PORT ANTONIO, Portland — The Haitians who arrived at Kensington near Manchioneal, Portland, on Tuesday, were sent home yesterday.

The 25 Haitians — 16 men, two women and seven children, between the ages of two and 51 — left the island on a Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard boat about 12:35 pm from the Ken Wright Pier, and should arrive in Haiti about 6:00 this morning when they are expected to be processed by Haitian immigration officers.

The Haitians, 21 of whom were repeat stowaways, received medical check-ups and were accommodated at the Seventh-day Adventist Church Hall since their arrival on Tuesday in a battered makeshift boat.

Mayor of Port Antonio, Councillor Benny White said the church could not accommodate the Haitians beyond yesterday, and sought the Government's intervention.

"I had to call the minister of foreign affairs, as I was faced with a crisis to find somewhere to host them after Friday, because the church could not facilitate them for the weekend," White told the Jamaica Observer. It was not clear, however, if the mayor's intervention forced their early repatriation.

Jamaican immigration authorities who interviewed the Haitian boat people said they were deemed to be economic migrants, whose intention was to go to the United States in order to better themselves, and as such were denied permission to stay in Jamaica.