17 US missionaries missing in Haiti

An audio clip from Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries has claimed that up to 17 people, including three children working as missionaries in the Port-Au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti had been kidnapped by armed gangs. US media have reported that the missionaries were kidnapped as they left an orphanage in the city.

"The mission field director and the American embassy are working to see what can be done," the audio was quoted as saying. "Pray that the gang members will come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ," the audio transcript from Christian Aid Ministries says in the report carried by the Washington Post.

The New York Times has reported that the missionaries were taken off the bus they were travelling in to the airport in order to drop some members off. No official confirmation has emerged from the U.S State Department or from Haitian police although CNN cited a local security officer in details of the kidnapping. A surge in gang violence has displaced thousands and hampered economic activity in the poorest country in the Americas. Violence spiraed after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July and an earthquake in August which killed over 2,000 people.