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A similar incident occurred in 2021 in Cap-Haitien, where at least 60 people died in an explosion while trying to take fuel from a tanker truck. (Representational/ AP Photo)A fuel tanker explosion on Haiti’s southern peninsula on Saturday resulted in at least 16 fatalities and left 40 others with severe burns, according to officials. The incident occurred near Miragoane, in the Nippes department, in the morning.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Garry Conille stated, “Emergency teams are working tirelessly to save the lives of the seriously injured.” He added, “The government stands in solidarity with all the victims and their families” in a social media update, according to a report by Reuters.
Authorities reported that the 16 deceased individuals were completely charred and unrecognisable. A witness, who chose to remain anonymous, described the scene, saying the truck’s gas tank was punctured by another vehicle, leading to a crowd gathering to collect the spilled fuel. “There were many people. Those who were closest to the truck were completely pulverised,” the witness recounted in a video interview with Echo Haiti Media.
Fuel deliveries to Miragoane have become increasingly difficult in recent weeks due to gangs controlling highways around the capital, Port-au-Prince. The gang violence has exacerbated a humanitarian crisis marked by mass displacements, sexual violence, child recruitment, and widespread hunger, prompting a nationwide state of emergency.
Haiti’s civil protection agency identified three severely burned individuals being treated at a hospital in Les Cayes: a 31-year-old man and two 23-year-old men, with burns covering up to 89% of their bodies. Two of these individuals have second-degree burns.
A similar incident occurred in 2021 in Cap-Haitien, where at least 60 people died in an explosion while trying to take fuel from a tanker truck.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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