A passenger plane of the American company Spirit Airlines bound for Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was hit by gunfire and diverted to the Dominican Republic, the company announced Monday, which reported ‘one lightly injured.
Flight 951, which departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was diverted to Santiago, where an inspection “revealed evidence of damage to the device consistent with firearm fire,” the American low-cost carrier said . It announced that it would suspend its connections with this Caribbean country ravaged by gang violence, “pending a more in-depth assessment”.
According to the “Miami Herald”, the plane was hit on Monday when it landed at the Port-au-Prince airport. “A crew member reported minor injuries and is being examined by a medical team,” but no passengers were injured, added the Spirit Airlines press release.
The plane was grounded and another plane was expected to bring passengers back to Fort Lauderdale during the day, the company said.
American Airlines has also suspended its flights from Miami to Port-au-Prince until Thursday, it confirmed to AFP.
At the end of October, several airlines, including Spirit Airlines, had already suspended their routes to Haiti due to an increase in gang violence in the Haitian capital, while the political crisis shaking the country reached a peak.
Haiti has suffered from chronic political instability for decades. In recent months, the poor Caribbean country has also had to face a resurgence of gang violence, which controls 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince.
The UN Secretary General on Monday called on Haitian political actors to “overcome their differences” and “work together”.
