Seventeen high school students from B.C.'s Kootenay region who are on a trip in Haiti are fine and all accounted for, their principal said Tuesday night.
Glen Campbell, the principal of Mount Sentinel Secondary in South Slocan, told ctvbc.ca that 17 students, two teachers and a parent arrived in Haiti on Tuesday for a service-oriented trip. The group was planning to work with a local mission on a goat farm, he said.
Campbell said he received a message saying that the group had sent a note via the Internet indicating that everyone was accounted for and no one was injured in Tuesday's massive quake. The group was about two hours outside of the capital, Port-au-Prince, he said.
Campbell said he would try to re-establish contact with them on Wednesday.
Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude quake hit about 15 kilometres west of the capital. Hundreds were feared dead.
The headquarters of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti reportedly sustained serious damage and a large number of UN personnel were unaccounted for.
Charmaine Nathan, a resident of Maple Ridge, B.C., recently adopted a two-year-old girl from Haiti named Lineda.
She told CTV News Tuesday night that the orphanage, which is located about 40 kilometres from the capital, felt the quake but that there was no serious damage or injuries.
"My prayers go out for them and if anybody can give any help or any donations to the orphanage or aid agency it would be really appreciated," she said.
With files from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber
