An Irish woman who is the director of an orphanage in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince is among nine people kidnapped from the orphanage.
Those kidnapped were taken from the Sainte-Hélène orphanage in the commune of Kenscoff, about 10km (6.2 miles) southeast of the capital, according to France 24 and AFP.
Among them was Irish missionary Gena Heraty, who oversees the orphanage, which is run by the humanitarian organisation Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (Our Little Brothers and Sisters).
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.
“As with all consular cases, the Department does not comment on the details of individual cases,” a spokesman said.
A three-year-old child and seven employees were also taken, according to reports.
No demands or ransom requests have been made, but Ms Heraty called the organisation early on Sunday to confirm she was among the kidnapped, a source close to the organisation told AFP.
From Westport, Co Mayo, Ms Heraty went to Haiti in 1993 and has remained there since, first as a volunteer and later as director at an orphanage for children with disabilities in the village of Kenscoff.
On graduating from the University of Limerick with a degree in business studies in 1991, she joined lay missionary group Viatores Christi, based in Dublin, and began working with the Simon Community.
She was introduced to the French charity Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs and then began working at the orphanage in Haiti.
Writing for The Irish Times in 2007, she said: “Once I saw those kids, I knew I had to help them.” She had been “moved to tears by a young woman who has two very handicapped children – both are blind and seem to have hydrocephalus. She wondered how God could leave her like that, especially as she and her husband had no work”.