The explosion of a tanker truck in Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second largest city, in the early hours of Tuesday (14) left at least 50 people dead, according to the partial assessment of the authorities. The accident comes four months after an earthquake left more than 2,000 dead and weakened the Caribbean country’s socioeconomic situation.
In the local newspaper Le Nouvelliste, a member of the Cap-Haitien municipal commission reported that residents were looking to collect fuel after the truck had an accident while trying to swerve a motorcycle, which may have increased the number of deaths and injuries at the time of the incident. the explosion.
Firefighters reported that among the partially charred bodies at the site were many women and children, although the number is uncertain. “We are far from taking stock, because there must be many dead inside the houses that were burned,” one of the officials told Le Nouvelliste.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who also heads the country’s transitional government after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, decreed three days of national mourning across the territory in memory of the victims of the tragedy. He also informed that field hospitals are being provided to take care of the wounded.
“I learned, with dismay, the sad news of the explosion in Cap-Haitien (…) On behalf of my government and the entire Haitian population, including the diaspora, I offer my sincere condolences to the victims’ families as well as to all those directly or indirectly affected by this drama,” wrote Henry on Twitter.
Haitians posted on social media describing the situation there as chaotic. Journalist Frantz Duval, editor-in-chief of Le Nouvelliste, said local hospitals needed urgent backup, in particular medicines and doctors to treat those who have suffered burns.
Haiti, the poorest country in Latin America, faces fuel shortages, in particular due to the blockade that local gangs have organized on the roads leading to oil stations. Hospitals, including those run by the international NGO Doctors Without Borders, have already denounced the situation, described as dire.
Justinien Hospital, to which dozens of wounded were taken after Tuesday’s explosion, is overwhelmed. A local nurse told the AFP news agency that there is no way to treat everyone who arrives with severe burns. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to save them all,” he said.
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