PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 14 (Askume) – A fuel truck exploded on a road on Haiti’s southern peninsula on Saturday, killing 24 people and injuring 40, half of whom suffered third-degree burns, the Haitian government said.
Haitian Prime Minister Gary Cornier visited the crash site near the coastal town of Miraguan in the Nippes department and said some of the most seriously injured victims were evacuated by helicopter to receive specialized care.
Ambulances were also dispatched as quickly as possible to treat others with serious burns and to relieve overcrowding at local hospitals.
“This is a horrific scene we have just experienced. Dozens of victims were injured and severely burned,” Cornier said in a video released by the government.
A report from Haiti’s emergency services said the injured included mainly men, three women and a child, but gave no details about the identities of the dead.
Fifteen others suffered second-degree burns, the report said.
Eyewitnesses to the incident said the fuel tank of the truck was punctured by another vehicle and people rushed to the spot to collect the fuel.
“There were a lot of people there. Those who were close to the truck were crushed,” the man, who asked not to be named, said in a video interview with local outlet Echo Haiti Media.
In 2021, a similar incident occurred in the city of Cap-Haïtien, killing at least 60 people , and it was believed that people were still trying to drain oil from a tanker truck.
Fuel deliveries to the Miragoana region have slowed in recent weeks as trucks are transported by ferry to avoid gang-controlled highways around the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The proliferation of gangs in and around the capital has exacerbated a humanitarian crisis, leading to mass displacement, sexual violence, child recruitment and widespread starvation. There is currently a state of emergency across the country.
Haiti’s civil protection agency reported the identities of a 31-year-old man and two 23-year-old men with burns over 89 percent of their bodies who were being treated at a hospital in Les Cayes in southern Haiti.
