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Seventeen U.S. missionaries and family kidnapped in Haiti

17 October 2021 07:06 (UTC +04:00)

As many as 17 American Christian missionaries and their families, including children, were kidnapped on Saturday by gang members in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, the New York Times reported, citing security officials there, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The kidnapping happened as the missionaries were leaving an orphanage in the crisis-engulfed Caribbean nation, the Times said.

They were abducted from a bus headed to the airport to drop off some members of the group before continuing to another destination in Haiti, the report added, citing local officials.

Jennifer Viau, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department in Washington, said by email that "we’re looking into this." The U.S. Embassy in Haiti did not respond to a request for comment outside business hours.