Tanker truck explodes in Haiti, dozens killed and injured

(Patria) - A fuel truck exploded on Saturday on a road on Haiti's southern peninsula, killing at least 16 people and leaving 40 survivors with severe burns, officials said.

Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille said emergency teams were working to “save the lives of the severely injured” following the incident, which occurred in the morning near the coastal town of Miragoane in the Nippes department.

“The government is in solidarity with all the victims and their families,” Conille said in a social media post, Reuters reported.

Authorities in Nippes said 16 bodies were completely charred and unrecognizable.
A witness to the incident said the truck's fuel tank had been punctured by another vehicle, and people rushed to the scene to collect fuel.

“There were many people. Those who were close to the truck were turned to dust,” said the man, who did not give his name, in a video interview with local newspaper Echo Haiti Media.
When asked how many people might have died, he said it was hard to say.

“You can't know, because there were many people, passers-by and those collecting oil. There were many people,” he said.

Fuel deliveries to Miragoane have slowed in recent weeks as trucks were transported by ferry to avoid highways controlled by gangs around the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The spread of gangs in the capital and surrounding areas has fueled a humanitarian crisis with
mass displacement, sexual violence, child recruitment, and widespread hunger. A state of emergency is now in effect across the country.

In a similar incident in 2021 in the city of Cap-Haitien, at least 60 people were killed, after people were believed to be trying to collect fuel from a tanker truck.