Group of US missionaries reportedly kidnapped in Haiti

Seventeen Christian missionaries and their families have been kidnapped in Haiti, according to a US media report citing unnamed Haitian security officials.

The New York Times said the group were abducted on Saturday from a bus in the capital Port-au-Prince which was headed to the airport. They had just come from an orphanage, the report said, although many details of the incident were unclear.

Haiti is in a severe crisis after a succession of natural disasters and ongoing political turmoil since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July.

It is also considered the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

The chaos has led to widespread criminality, and kidnappings are not rare.