**A Haitian man has been pulled alive from the rubble of a ruined hotel after 11 days, as the official search for quake survivors was declared over.**The 23-year-old man was carried on a stretcher from the Napoli Inn Hotel in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haitians and rescuers cheered as the man, seen to be smiling, was taken towards a waiting ambulance, the BBC’s Adam Mynott reports from the scene.
Earlier, Haiti’s government said search-and-rescue operations had ended.
UN spokeswoman Elizabeth Byrs in Geneva said the decision was “heartbreaking” but that it had been taken on the advice of experts.
She said most search-and-rescue teams would now be leaving Haiti, although some with heavy lifting equipment might stay to help with the clean-up operation and with aid distribution.
HAITI’S REMARKABLE SURVIVORS
- Richmond, 23 - pulled out alive after 11 days
- Emmannuel Buso, 21 - rescued after 10 days
- Marie Carida, 84 - saved after 10 days
- Mendji Bahina Sanon, 11 - trapped for eight days
- Lozama Hotteline, 25 - pulled out after seven days
- Elisabeth Joassaint, 15 days - buried for seven days, half her life
- Ena Zizi, 69 - rescued after seven days
Haiti quake: Survivors’ stories
Rescuers said the man found on Saturday appeared to be in good condition, but thirsty.
The BBC’s Adam Mynott says the operation to extricate him lasted about two-and-a-half hours.
The man, whose first name is Richmond, smiled as he was pulled free but did not speak, our correspondent says.
A French rescue worker, Lt Col Arnaud, described the man’s survival as “a miracle”.
He said rescuers - who had been alerted by the man’s relatives - had managed to get water to him while they worked to dig him out.
He said the man must have had access to some water in the past 11 days and had probably been helped by the fact that the 5-6m (16-20ft) of debris above him was largely wood, rather than concrete.
Lt Col Arnaud said the man had told his rescuers another four people were trapped with him but that they had stopped moving a couple of days ago.
Rescuers are now searching for any other signs of life.
Two people, an 84-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man, were pulled alive from the rubble in Port-au-Prince on Friday.
The woman, who was found in the wreckage of her home seriously injured and severely dehydrated, was taken to the main city hospital for treatment.
The 21-year-old man, Emmannuel Buso, was rescued by an Israeli search team and is said to be in a stable condition.
Speaking from his hospital bed, he described how he had had no food, and had drunk his own urine to keep thirst at bay.
Pay respects
More than 1,000 mourners gathered on Saturday by Port-au-Prince’s shattered Roman Catholic Cathedral for the funeral of Haiti’s Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot and a vicar, Charles Benoit.
President Rene Preval attended the service, joined by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and the Vatican’s ambassador to Haiti.
BBC HAITIAN CREOLE SERVICE
- Broadcasting on the radio daily at 0910 local time (1410 GMT)
- Twenty-minute programme in Haitian Creole
- Broadcasting on FM in Haiti’s six largest cities
- Also available on satellite and online, and via social media
“I came here to pay my respects to all the dead from the earthquake, and to see them have a funeral,” mourner Esther Belizair told AP, saying that she had lost a cousin.
Few funeral services have been held in Haiti for those killed by the quake.
At least 75,000 bodies have so far been buried in mass graves, Haiti’s government has said. Many more remain uncollected in the streets.
The BBC has started a new radio service in Creole, one of the country’s main languages.
The 20-minute long daily broadcast, called Connexion Haiti, will try to give people up-to-date information about the basic services they need to survive - such as where to find food, clean drinking water, medical assistance and shelter.
An estimated 1.5 million people were left homeless by the 7.0-magnitude quake, which some have estimated has killed as many as 200,000 people.
The UN says 130,000 people have now been relocated out of Port-au-Prince, easing the pressure on overcrowded camps in the city.