The Collapse of a School in Pétion-Ville Happened 18 Years Ago

Eighteen years ago, on November 7, 2008, the Collège La Promesse Évangélique collapsed in Pétion-Ville, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. At least 93 people, most of them children, died, and more than 150 were injured.

A Fragile Building

The school, run by a church, had about 700 students, from kindergarten to secondary level. The ground floor gave way and the two upper floors came down on top of it, also destroying several neighboring houses. The third floor was still under construction. The school had already partly collapsed in 2000 before being rebuilt, and residents suspected poor-quality construction.

The Owner Arrested

Pastor Fortin Augustin, the school's owner, was arrested on November 8, 2008 and charged with involuntary manslaughter. He reportedly admitted to President René Préval that he had built the structure alone, without an engineer and with very little steel and cement.

An International Response

MINUSTAH peacekeepers, including Philippine troops who were the first to arrive, searched through the rubble, at times with their bare hands. The neighboring country sent two helicopters, and teams from Médecins sans Frontières and Martinique joined the rescue effort. On November 8, 35 students, 13 girls and 22 boys, were pulled alive from the ruins. Five days after the disaster, part of the Grace Divine School collapsed in turn in Port-au-Prince.