(Cap-Haitien) The toll of the explosion of a tanker truck Tuesday in Haiti worsened to 66 dead, after the death of four injured people, said Wednesday morning the deputy mayor of the city bereaved by the tragedy .
“We had counted 62 people dead on the spot, and four people who had been hospitalized because they were seriously burned, died”, declared to AFP Patrick Almonor, deputy mayor of Cap-Haitien, the second city of Haiti, in the north of the country.
“It is still a provisional assessment, because the wounded have been transferred to several hospitals, and we will be doing a tour this morning to see if there are any new deceased,” he added.
About 50 people, many in critical condition, were injured in the tragedy which took place in the middle of the night from Monday to Tuesday.
PHOTO ODELYN JOSEPH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The explosion set cars and houses on fire, killing 66 and injuring dozens.
According to Patrick Almonor, the driver of the tanker tried to avoid a collision with a motorcycle taxi, thus losing control of his vehicle which overturned.
Following the accident, “members of the population took the opportunity to collect fuel by filling makeshift containers, which is the basis of a terrible explosion,” the director told AFP on Tuesday. General of the Civil Protection of Haiti, Jerry Chandler.
As of Tuesday, about twenty wounded were transferred to hospitals across the country, including that of the organization Médecins sans frontières in Port-au-Prince, the only structure in Haiti specializing in the care of severe burns.
“We operated all night and, for the moment, our 12 patients are stable,” said Jean Gilbert Ndong, MSF medical coordinator, on Wednesday morning.
“We are still expecting a dozen patients today who were sorted by an MSF team, which went to Cape Town yesterday. The team is made up of a surgeon specializing in burns, an anesthetist and a nurse, ”Ndong said.
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 release of the drivers, sparking strong discontent among the population.