First state-led rescue flight evacuates Floridians stuck in Haiti
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida began moving forward Wednesday with flights to evacuate people from strife-torn Haiti.
While providing few details, Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said a flight with 14 people, including children, had departed Wednesday afternoon to go to Orlando Sanford International Airport.
"There's people that are in parts of Haiti that are dangerous," DeSantis said during an appearance at the Central Florida airport. "We have personnel on the ground that are helping them get where they need to be."
The Division of Emergency Management last week launched an online portal for Floridians and Americans looking to get out of Haiti amid the nation's escalating instability.
Guthrie said about 500 Americans and 360 Floridians had contacted the state about evacuating.
Since Saturday, the U.S. government has arranged charter flights from Haiti to the U.S. for people with valid passports.
DeSantis said that, unlike the federal charter flights, Florida is covering people's costs.
Guthrie said the state is also working to get people from where they have been staying to an undisclosed airfield in Haiti.
The flights come as the state has increased deployments of law-enforcement officers, National Guard members and State Guard members to South Florida in anticipation of a surge in migrants from Haiti.
