The Biden administration charters helicopters to evacuate up to 1,600 Americans trapped in Haiti as gang violence leaves bodies in the streets and gun battles spread to the suburbs

The Biden administration has begun chartering helicopters to evacuate Americans seeking to leave Haiti as gang violence continues to spread and the death toll rises.

Up to 1,600 US citizens have asked the State Department for help in closing the airport and spreading the carnage to upscale neighborhoods around the capital Port-au-Prince.

Armed gangs have carried out attacks on suburbs and bodies have been left in the streets as a result of heavy gunfire.

People in communities under fire called radio stations and begged for help from Haiti’s national police, who are outnumbered by the gangs.

Citizens who experienced firsthand the barbarity on the streets have carried wooden coffins across roads strewn with rubble and fires.

The State Department on Wednesday launched the first flights to take Americans from Haiti to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Thirty U.S. citizens will be able to leave Port-au-Prince daily aboard helicopter flights organized by the U.S. government, the agency said.

“Effective March 20, the U.S. government will facilitate the safe departure of U.S. citizens from Port-au-Prince, Haiti,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

“We are in the process of organizing government-chartered helicopter flights from Port-au-Prince to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where U.S. government personnel are present to provide consular assistance.

“And from Santo Domingo, American citizens will be responsible for their own onward travel to the United States.”

Patel also confirmed that the number of Americans seeking help has nearly doubled in just a few days, from 1,000 earlier this week to 1,600 on Wednesday.

‘Some are interested in exploring departure options. Some just want to keep in touch with the United States of America or the embassy,” Patel said. “Some may want expertise or advice on how to stay safe and others may not be in a place where they can safely leave right now, but may be along the line.”

Gunmen have set fire to police stations, forcibly closed Haiti’s main international airport and stormed the country’s two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 prisoners.

Dozens of people have been killed and about 17,000 others left homeless as a result of the violence.

GRAPHIC: Armed gangs have launched attacks on suburbs and bodies have been left in the streets as heavy gunfire

Up to 1,600 US citizens have asked the State Department for help in closing the airport and spreading the carnage to upscale neighborhoods around the capital Port-au-Prince.

A woman with a child flees the area after gunshots were heard in Port-au-Prince

People in communities under fire called radio stations and begged for help from Haiti’s national police, who are outnumbered by the gangs. A body lies outside the police building in Port-au-Prince

According to UN estimates, more than 360,000 people have been displaced in Haiti.

Unelected Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced last week he would resign, but a plan backed by Caribbean states and Washington to create an interim presidential council has yet to be appointed.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has stepped in to help by chartering flights from the violence-wracked country to his state.

Republican Rep. Cory Mills, also from Florida, flew two helicopter missions to rescue stranded Americans.