Plane carrying 53 orphans from earthquake-ravaged Haiti lands at Pittsburgh airport

53 Haitian orphans arrive at Pittsburgh airport

CORAOPOLIS, Pa. — A flight carrying 53 Haitian orphans has landed at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Workers disembarked the plane, some of them carrying children in their arms, and boarded waiting buses. Other children walked off the plane, waving at onlookers.

The orphans will be taken to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for medical care and be placed in group homes until their adoptions are finalized.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and other officials escorted the children from Haiti, where they and their American caretakers spent days in dire need of food and water after last week’s massive earthquake.

The children were not orphaned by the earthquake, but their orphanage was destroyed.

The families of two Pittsburgh sisters working at the orphanage used Twitter and Facebook to spread the word about their plight, prompting Monday’s evacuation.