Death toll from deadly tanker explosion in Haiti rises to 24

Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille looks on as an injured victim, evacuated for medical care following a fuel truck explosion, exits a helicopter in Miragoane. (Photo/Reuters)

The death toll from an explosion of a tanker truck in southwestern Haiti has risen to 24, authorities said.

The explosion in Miragoane on Saturday injured about 40 people, with some suffering burns over most of their bodies, Emmanuel Pierre, head of Haiti's civil protection agency, told the AFP news agency.

The death toll was increased from 16 earlier in the day, after rescuers discovered more charred bodies near the explosion site, Pierre said.

The injured were transported to Sainte Therese Hospital in the port city of Miragoane, about 100 kilometres west of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Six were later evacuated to specialist hospitals in Port-au-Prince.

Interim Prime Minister Garry Conille called an emergency government meeting to deal with the tragedy, Pierre said.

Haiti's struggles

Haiti’s hospitals are poorly equipped to treat victims of severe burns.

The nation of 12 million people has also been struggling with fuel shortages, as fighting between gangs makes it more difficult to import goods into the country.

In 2021, 75 people were killed in Haiti's second largest city Cap Haitien, when another fuel truck overturned and unleashed a fireball that swept through several homes and businesses that were built closely next to each other.

Some of those killed were onlookers who had rushed to the truck to try and scoop up some of its cargo.

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Source: TRT