- Title: COSTA RICA: U.S. flies Costa Rica earthquake injured to hospitals
- Date: 11th January 2009
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NIDIA BORGES DIAZ, NICARAGUAN LIVING IN COSTA RICA, SAYING: "We came looking for work and now this. We lost my daughter, everything we had. We didn't salvage anything at all." EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS IN SHELTER LOOKING FOR CLOTHING RESCUE WORKERS IN SHELTER U.S. HELICOPTER ARRIVING
- Embargoed: 26th January 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Costa Rica
- Country: Costa Rica
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVA3UCVPP9NDM182NMCED4EDLHUY
- Story Text: Injured earthquake victims are flown to hospitals as shelters fill up, two days after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake rocks Costa Rica.
Rescue workers dug into collapsed hillsides on Saturday (January 10) searching for bodies and possible survivors two days after a strong earthquake killed 20 people.
Rescuers fanned out into remote jungle areas on the flanks of the Poas Volcano to excavate landslides in search of 40 people missing from Thursday's
1-magnitude quake.
"We pulled 2 bodies out yesterday afternoon and this morning, we pulled out a kid, around 13 or 14 years old," said Roberto Figueroa.
The Red Cross in Costa Rica said 20 bodies have been recovered. About 40 people were still missing, civil protection spokesman Reinaldo Carballo told Reuters.
Colombia and the United States sent military helicopters to help the Costa Rican government, which does not have an army.
Bottled water, electric generators and rations sent by the U.S.
military began to reach shelters crammed with Costa Ricans who lost their homes.
Nidia Borges is one of tens of thousands of Nicaraguans who have crossed the border to live in Costa Rica, lured by jobs and a higher standard of living.
Her daughter, grandson and son-in-law all died in the quake.
"I lost my daughter, my son-in-law, and the little one (grandson)," she said, wiping away tears, as she sat by her husband in a shelter. "We came looking for work and now this. We lost my daughter, everything we had. We didn't salvage anything at all."
Hundreds of foreign tourists stranded by cut-off roads have already been evacuated by air to the capital San Jose.
The bodies of several people, including four children, were recovered from beneath collapsed hills and fallen buildings. Other bodies are thought to be in cars buried in earth.
Costa Rica is a popular tourist destination due to its lush natural parks, volcanoes and rich wildlife, but it is prone to natural disasters like the rest of Central America. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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