Haiti earthquake in pictures: The unimaginable

horror which has torn a country apart

The destruction has been described as unimaginable.

But for the people of Haiti, the effects wrought by Tuesday's catastrophic earthquake are all too
real.

It is now two days since the disaster ripped their island apart - but few are able to comprehend
the sheer scale of the crisis.

Much of the capital Port-au-Prince lays waste. In public squares and makeshift hospitals, in playing
fields and parks, stunned survivors squat motionless on blankets or stagger around with glazed
eyes.

Rescue workers make desperate - and frequently futile attempts to prise away masonry to free
trapped victims. But in many cases, they are simply opening up impromptu tombs.

The children are the most pitiful. Cradled in their parents arms with bandages swathed away their
bloodied heads, few have the energy to even cry.
Desperate: Survivors gather outside the ruins of Haiti's National Palace in the earthquake ravaged city of Port-au-
Prince
Shocked: A mother cradles her injured baby in her arms at a makeshift field hospital in the streets of the capital
Aerial view: Even substantial buildings like the Presidential Palace crumpled with force of the earthquakes. The shanty-
towns of Port-au-Prince were swept away
No news: Liesette Lenai sobs during a prayer service at the First Haitian Church of Grace in Charlotte, N.C. Nearly all
her family is still in Haiti, and she has not heard from any of them
Terrifed: Hundreds of people congregate at public squares after their homes were destroyed
Injured: A father heads out of Port-au-Prince carrying his family on his motorbike
Comfort: A man holds a child in his arms as they wait in a makeshift camp
Makeshift shroud: Haitians wrap of the body of an earthquake victim in a white sheet
Sanctuary: Many have fled to open spaces as the island continues to be rattled by aftershocks
Unimaginable: People walk amidst the destruction on Delmas Road, Port-au-Prince
Collapse: Rescue workers race against time to free people from the shattered ruins of the United Nations compound
Pack of cards: The UN headquarters - formerly a five-storey building - seen from above