A North Carolina man and a New Jersey woman were among those rescued from the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Haiti’s capital city more than two days after Tuesday’s devastating earthquake.
A day after French, Spanish and U.S. teams dug out Sarla Chand, a 65-year-old aid worker from Teaneck, N.J., rescuers freed Rev. Sam Dixon, of Roanoke Rapids, N. C., on Friday.
"I, being raised a Christian, do believe that is something we would call a miracle," one of his daughters, Christy Dixon, told msnbc.com by phone from Swansboro, N.C. "We believe our prayers have been answered."
“I’m just thrilled,” Dixon's wife, Cindy, told The Daily Herald of Roanoke Rapids. “This is more than I ever dreamed possible. We are thanking the Lord because we are so blessed!”
Christy Dixon said her father, who is deputy general secretary of United Methodist Committee on Relief, a U.S.-based humanitarian organization, sustained leg and ankle injuries, the extent of which wasn't immediately known.
Sam Dixon and two of his colleagues from UMCOR had just been dropped off at Hotel Montana for dinner on Tuesday when the quake struck, trapping them in a pile of rubble.
One of Dixon's colleagues was freed earlier Thursday and crews were working Friday to free the other.
'Dumb luck'
Chand was freed Thursday more than 50 hours after the quake struck. A photo shows her snacking on a biscuit and smiling at rescue workers.
According to NorthJersey.com, Chand told her son, Shiraz Lall, that she was able to move around under the remnants of the hotel, searching on her hands and knees for an escape route.
"I really think it's dumb luck that they found her," Lall said.
Others were trapped with Chand, the Web site reported, including her boss, Richard Santos, who distributed Motrin pills to the injured.
"That was the only painkiller they had; some people had broken legs and feet," Lall told NorthJersey.com.
Chand is a vice president with IMA World Health, a nonprofit organization providing health care services and supplies to vulnerable people. She was reportedly at the hotel for a meeting.
She is the co-author of a textbook for mission study, "Global Health and Christian Response-ability," according to the Associated Press.