At least 62 people were killed when a gas tanker truck exploded in the Haitian city of Cap-Haitien on Tuesday morning, a local official said, with overwhelmed medics saying the toll was set to rise, IgbereTV reports.
The blast is the latest disaster to hit the poverty-wracked Caribbean nation, riven by gang violence, political paralysis, and acute fuel shortages.
“We have now counted 62 deaths,” Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor said, adding that authorities were still searching for victims amid the charred debris in Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second-largest city located on the northern coast.
Almonor earlier described a horrific scene at the blast site, saying he had seen more than 50 people “burned alive” and that it was “impossible to identify them.”
Scores of people were injured, and Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was heading to the scene along with extra doctors and health workers.
According to Almonor, the truck is believed to have flipped over after the driver lost control while swerving to avoid a motorcycle taxi
