Canadians arrive in Montreal from quake-ravaged Haiti

A shaken, sombre group of Canadian survivors of Haiti's earthquake arrived in Montreal late Saturday, the trauma of the experience evident on their faces.

Many of the approximately 200 returnees were bandaged, sported IV drips or had to be transported in wheelchairs. Some were placed in ambulances upon arrival.

"It's just so upsetting to see what happens to people who have so little in the world," Palmaina D'Andreis told reporters upon her arrival.

"It was horrible. There were things I have never seen before, that I never imagined I would see," said Marie Jennot.

She had been visiting family when the earthquake struck on Tuesday. She recalled the additional horror imposed by the aftershocks and the nightmarish visions of people trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Jennot outlined some of the problems facing survivors: "There is no way to communicate, there are no telephones, no drinkable water, no electricity."

Junior college student Ian Jeudy said his parents had stayed behind in Haiti to provide care to survivors.

"They are doctors, they try to help people. If they can do something, they're going to try," he said.

Among the returnees was a group of rescue workers and their sniffer dogs, which signifies that the searching-for-survivors phase of the operation is nearly over.

"It's probably one of the toughest we've seen in terms of devastation," said Silvie Montie, who spent two days in Haiti as part of a Canadian Search and Disaster Dogs Association operation.

"When we passed through the streets to go to certain places, people would stop us and say they thought someone was missing there or still alive there. There was a lot of work."

Montie has been involved in rescue work for 20 years, and said she was shocked by the desperate struggle for survival among those who lived through the quake.

The death toll has been estimated at somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people. Up to three million people need food, water, shelter and medical help.

With a report from CTV Montreal's Cindy Sherwin and files from The Canadian Press

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  An evacuee from Haiti is helped by Red Cross personnel at Pierre Trudeau Airport in Montreal, after arriving from Haiti early Sunday morning, Jan. 17, 2010. (Peter McCabe / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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  Members of the Canadian Search and Disaster Dog Association head into the Windham Hotel in Montreal, after spending three days in Haiti, early Sunday, January 17, 2010. (Peter McCabe / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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  A Canadian evacuee from Haiti arrives at a Montreal airport hotel by bus, to be processed by the Canadian Red Cross, early Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010. (Peter McCabe / THE CANADIAN PRESS)