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Authorities have killed at least 50 people and burned 20 homes in the northern city of Cap-Hatien.
At least 50 people have been killed after a truck carrying fuel in the Haitian city of Cap-Haitien exploded.
Patrick Almonor, the city’s deputy mayor, said Tuesday he saw “between 50 and 54 people alive” and that it was “impossible to identify.”
Almonor added that “about 20” houses in the area were also set on fire.
“We are still unable to provide details on the number of victims inside the home,” he said.
According to Almonor, the truck driver bent down to avoid a motorcycle taxi that appeared to have lost control and overturned the tanker.
Almonor said the fuel was spilled on the road and pedestrians went to collect the fuel.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said the blast left dozens injured.
“Three national mourners will be installed throughout the territory in memory of the victims of this tragedy that has devastated the entire Haitian nation,” Henry said on Twitter.
The nearby Justinian University Hospital was overcrowded with patients being rushed to the facility.
“We do not have the capacity to treat the number of people with severe burns,” a nurse told AFP. “I’m afraid we can’t save them all.”
The blast occurred while Haiti was experiencing severe fuel shortages and rising gas prices.
The Caribbean nation has never produced enough electricity to meet the needs of the entire population.
Even in the most prosperous places of the capital, the Haitian state electricity service provides only a few hours a day.
Those who can afford it rely on expensive generators, which do not help in the face of severe fuel shortages in the capital and its outskirts in the face of fuel shortages caused by groups blocking access to the country’s oil terminals.
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