- A fuel truck explosion occurred in Haiti's southern peninsula, killing 24 people and injuring 40, half of whom suffered third-degree burns.
- Prime Minister Gary Conille visited the scene near Miragoan and arranged for the evacuation by helicopter of the most seriously injured victims.
- Ambulances were dispatched to help people with severe burns and to ease congestion at local hospitals.
The Haitian government said a fuel truck explosion on a road in Haiti's southern peninsula on Saturday killed 24 people and injured 40, half of whom suffered third-degree burns.
Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conilles, visiting the scene near the coastal city of Miragoin in Nippe department, said some of the most seriously injured victims had been evacuated by helicopter to receive specialized treatment.
Ambulances were also dispatched as quickly as possible to treat people with severe burns and to ease congestion at overcrowded local hospitals.
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“What we have seen is a horrific scene, with dozens of casualties, injuries and severe burns,” Conille said in a video distributed by the government.
Haitian flags are seen in Port-au-Prince. A fuel truck exploded on a road in Haiti's southern peninsula on Saturday, killing 24 people and injuring 40, half of whom suffered third-degree burns, according to the Haitian government. (Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images)
Reports from Haiti's emergency services said the injured were mostly men, including three women and a child, but no details were released about the identities of those killed.
An additional 15 people were reported to have suffered second-degree burns.
Witnesses to the incident said the truck's petrol tank was punctured by other vehicles and people rushed to the scene to collect fuel.
“There were a lot of people. People who were near the truck were crushed,” the man, who asked not to give his name, said in a video interview with local outlet Echo Haiti Media.
A similar incident occurred in the city of Cap-Haitien in 2021, leaving at least 60 people dead, also believed to have been an attempt to steal fuel from a tanker truck.
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Fuel deliveries to the Miragoane area have slowed in recent weeks as trucks have been transported by ferries to avoid gang-controlled highways around the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The spread of gang violence in the capital and surrounding areas has led to mass displacement, sexual violence, child recruitment and widespread hunger, creating a humanitarian crisis. A state of emergency has now been declared across the country.
Haiti's civil defense agency reported the identities of two men, one aged 31 and the other aged 23, who suffered burns over 89 percent of their bodies and were being treated at a hospital in Les Cayes in southern Haiti.
