A school has collapsed in a suburb of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, killing at least 10 people and trapping an unknown number in rubble.
A school has collapsed in a suburb of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, killing at least 10 people and trapping an unknown number in rubble.
Emergency services are working to free people from the wreckage of the school in Petionville, where at least 200 children were studying at the time.
Emergency services are working to free people from the wreckage of the school in Petionville, where some 700 children are educated.
At least 20 people have been brought to hospital, some seriously injured.
At least 20 people have been brought to hospital, some seriously injured.
Relatives of pupils missing inside the three-storey building were crying and screaming outside, Reuters reports.
Relatives of pupils missing inside the three-storey building were crying and screaming outside, Reuters reports.
The school, La Promesse College, is located in Petionville, described by The Associated Press as "a relatively affluent suburb" of the capital.
The site contains a kindergarten as well as a primary and secondary school.
'Like an earthquake'
'Like an earthquake'
The agency's correspondent on the scene counted at least 10 bodies buried under rubble in the remains of the school.
A Haitian Red Cross worker, Michaele Gedeon, described a scene of horror for CNN television:
"The teachers are hurt, the children are seriously injured," a policeman at the scene told AFP news agency.
"The whole school collapsed on the kids, and you know on the phone you can hear so many, so many children, you know, crying, crying. And saying, 'This one is dead, that one is dead'.
"And there are some dead. I saw three bodies."
"It's a school building that collapsed on the children. They were in their classrooms."
A mother who rushed to the school in fear of her child's safety said the disaster had struck at 1000 local time (1500 GMT).
A mother who rushed to the school in fear of her child's safety said the disaster had struck at 1000 local time (1500 GMT).
The building's first floor collapsed and "dragged down the rest of the building as the pupils were in class", she told AFP.
The building's first floor collapsed and "dragged down the rest of the building as the pupils were in class", she told AFP news agency.
United Nations peacekeepers and members of the Haitian Red Cross are at the scene.
United Nations peacekeepers and members of the Haitian Red Cross are at the scene.
"It's like an earthquake," said Brazilian Maj Gen Carlos dos Santos Cruz, commander for UN troops in Haiti.
"It's like an earthquake," said Brazilian Maj Gen Carlos dos Santos Cruz, commander for UN troops in Haiti.
"You have a lot of people under the debris. We don't know how many exactly but there are a lot of people there because they were attending school."
"You have a lot of people under the debris. We don't know how many exactly but there are a lot of people there because they were attending school."
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