Fuel truck blast leaves 25 dead in Haiti

A fuel truck explosion on a road in Haiti’s southern peninsula on Saturday (September 14) left at least 25 people dead and dozens of survivors with serious burns, according to local media.

Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the site, near the coastal city of Miragoane in the department of Nippes, and said some of the most seriously injured victims were evacuated by helicopter to receive medical care.

“This is a horrible scene, what I have just witnessed,” he said in a statement. Earlier, he said emergency teams were working to “save the lives of the seriously injured,” and pledged government support for the victims and their families.

Media outlet Radio RFM said 25 people died in the incident that took place around 7 a.m. local time. Earlier, authorities in Nippes said 16 bodies were completely charred and unrecognizable, and 40 people had been taken to the local hospital with burns.

Images released by the government show medical staff helping a man whose legs and head were swathed in white bandages, as he entered a humanitarian air service helicopter.

A witness to the incident said the truck’s gas tank had been punctured by another vehicle, and people rushed to the site to collect fuel.

“There were a lot of people. Those who were close to the truck got pulverized,” said the man, who did not give his name, in a video interview with local outlet Echo Haiti Media.

When asked how many people might have been killed in the blast, he said it was difficult to say.

“You can’t know, because there were a lot of people, bystanders and those collecting oil. There were a lot of people,” he said.

(With inputs from Reuters)