First Group of US Citizens Fleeing Haiti Arrives at Miami International Airport

(Photo: Wikicommons | Sharon Hahn Darlin)

A charter flight carrying dozens of US citizens fleeing the gang violence in Haiti landed in Miami on Sunday (Mar. 17).

According to the US State Department, over 30 Americans were on the government-chartered flight that arrived at the Miami International Airport after the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince earlier this month urged US citizens to leave "as soon as possible" as chaos continues in Haiti.

Boston-based Haitian-American Avlot Quessa told the Miami Herald that he went to Cap-Haïtien to board the flight after traveling to Haiti last month for what was supposed to be a weeklong trip to visit his mother.

"It's just terrible ... The suffering, you can only imagine," he said about the country. "Haiti is my homeland and it's very stressful to see the homeland going through this act of violence, destruction ... and they are our neighbors."

Haiti's main airport in Port-au-Prince remains closed following gang attacks that have raged through Haiti in recent weeks, pushing many people to the brink of famine, the Associated Press reported.

The State Department announced on Saturday (Mar. 16) that it would offer limited charter flights for American citizens from the less chaotic northern city of Cap-Haïtien. However, they stressed that they could not provide ground transportation to Cap-Haïtien and told Americans in Haiti to only consider the charter flights "if [they] think you can reach Cap-Haïtien airport safely."

The State Department also said that government officials in Miami were helping the newly arrived evacuees to determine their next steps.

"We encourage US citizens still in Haiti who seek to depart to contact the Department of State using the crisis intake form on our website if they have not already done so," the department added.

AP reported that people taking the U.S. government-coordinated flights must sign a promissory bill agreeing to reimburse the government.

It was previously reported that 65-year-old "Tuesdays with Morrie" author Mitch Albom and his wife were two of 10 Americans airlifted out of Port-au-Prince last week.

It is unknown if Albom was among the Americans who arrived in Haiti on Sunday.