The tragedy occurred in Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second largest city. At least 62 people were killed by the explosion of a tanker truck early Tuesday, December 14, according to the most recent toll of the tragedy which also left 48 injured, many in critical condition. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced to go there, “accompanied by members of [son] government and a significant number of doctors and first-aid workers “. He also decreed three days of national mourning for “the memory of the victims of this tragedy which mourns the entire Haitian nation”.
Some 40 homes around the site of the explosion caught fire as a result of the explosion, raising fears of an even heavier toll. “We are not yet able to give details on the number of victims inside the houses”, indeed specified the deputy mayor of the city, Patrick Almonor.
According to the latter, the driver of the tanker would have tried to avoid a collision with a motorcycle taxi, thus losing control of his vehicle which overturned. Residents would then rush to the truck, despite the driver’s warnings, to recover the fuel that Haiti is sorely lacking, before being largely killed in the explosion.
Health services, overwhelmed, were trying to cope with the influx of patients requiring urgent care. “We do not have the means to take care of the many seriously burned people”, testified to AFP a nurse from the Justinien hospital, where many wounded were transported. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to save them all.” Faced with the emergency, the Prime Minister also announced the deployment of field hospitals.
Haiti, a poor Caribbean country, is in the throes of a severe fuel shortage due to gang stranglehold on part of the fueling circuit. In recent months, armed gangs have greatly increased their hold over Port-au-Prince, controlling the roads leading to the country’s three oil terminals. More than a dozen fuel transport vehicles were hijacked by gangs who demanded heavy ransoms for the drivers’ release.
Consequences: since October, telecommunications networks and the media have reduced their activities across the country, being unable to find fuel for the thermal generators that supply the antennas with electricity. Likewise, this energy crisis handicaps the functioning of the rare hospital structures in the country.