France said Wednesday that it has evacuated 170 citizens and 70 other EU citizens out of Haiti as the security situation worsens there.

“More than 170 French nationals and around 70 people of European and other nationalities in a vulnerable situation” were airlifted out, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

About 1,100 French citizens live in Haiti, many of whom hold dual nationality, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Haiti has been engulfed in chaos since February, canceling commercial flights to the country. The Carribean nation faces swelling gang violence, with Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry recently stepping down. 

In addition, the UN says 5.5 million people in Haiti require humanitarian aid, with 3 million of them being children.

Evacuees being flown out via helicopter 

On Sunday, France first  announced the flights saying people wanting to leave  should contact the embassy in Port-au-Prince. 

The most vulnerable people were being taken out of the country, the foreign minister said.

The evacuees were flown by French army helicopters to a ship, which will take them to Fort-de-France, the capital of the French Caribbean island of Martinique.

ssa/wd (AFP, dpa)