Canadian teens rescued from Haiti

Canadian Forces have rescued a group of stranded teen volunteers and their chaperones who arrived in Haiti from British Columbia just before Tuesday's quake struck.

On Sunday around 1 p.m., the group arrived in the capital of Port-au-Prince after spending more than four days stranded in the Haitian countryside.

Pat Dooley, a school official from the group's hometown, confirmed that the teens and the adults were safely on their way to the Canadian embassy.

"Obviously our next goal is to get them home," she told CTV News Channel.

The volunteers, who are from the southeastern B.C. town of South Slocan, arrived in Haiti only 45 minutes before the quake struck on Tuesday.

For days, they had been stuck in the Haitian country side, about 45 kilometres southwest of Port-au-Prince.

The volunteers had hoped to spend two weeks in Haiti volunteering at a goat farm.

The parents of the students have been desperate to get the group back to Canada, and were even willing to charter a private plane, which would cost around $100,000.

"We'll get those kids, and their chaperones and other Canadians, out," said Defence Minister Peter MacKay in Ottawa.

He added that 23 other Canadians from the surrounding area will also be brought back to the capital. The total number of evacuees is 37.

The group has been sleeping outside since the quake, out of fear that aftershocks would bring down their damaged accommodations.