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The government in Haiti confirmed that a fuel truck explosion on a road in the south of the country killed 24 and injured 40, half of them with third-degree burns.
Prime Minister Garry Kony visited the site of yesterday’s explosion near the coastal town of Miragouan in Nippes province, and said a helicopter had evacuated some seriously injured people for special medical care.
Ambulances were also sent to help treat others with severe burns and relieve the burden on overcrowded hospitals in the area.
“It is a horrific scene that we have seen here. Dozens of victims are injured and badly burned,” Kony said in a video released by the government.
A report from Haiti’s emergency services said most of the injured were men, along with three women and a child, but gave no details on the identities of the dead.
The report indicated that 15 others suffered second-degree burns. A witness to the incident said that another vehicle punctured the fuel truck, after which people rushed to collect the fuel.
Fuel deliveries to the Mirajouan area have slowed in recent weeks as trucks are transferred on ferries to avoid gang-controlled highways around the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The spread of gangs in the capital and surrounding areas has led to a humanitarian crisis with mass displacement, violence and child recruitment, in addition to widespread hunger and a state of emergency imposed nationwide.
