Chile sends 176 Haitian migrants home on criticised 'humanitarian flight'

A 'humanitarian flight' takes off transporting Haitian citizens returning to their country as part of Chilean government program at a military base, in the Santiago's International Airport, in Santiago, Chile, November 7, 2018. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

(Reuters) - Chile returned a planeload of Haitian immigrants to their native country on Wednesday in the first in a series of "humanitarian flights" criticised by migrant groups as "forced deportations."

At a Santiago sports centre, 176 people gathered to board coaches for the airport and a Chilean air force flight destined for the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.