“I observed between 50 and 54 people burned alive at the scene. It is impossible to identify them,” said Cap-Haitien Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor.
At least 40 people died this Tuesday in Cap-Haitien, in the north of Haiti, due to the explosion of a tanker truck carrying fuel and which suffered an accident.
The vice mayor of the city, Patrick Almonord, explained to local media that a hundred people were trying to loot the truck at the time of the explosion, after the vehicle crashed in the central neighborhood of Pont Grand Bois et Samarie after the midnight.
“We continue with the count” of victims, the deputy mayor told Radio Télévision Caraïbes, underlining that the figure of 40 deaths is preliminary.
Many injured were being treated on the floor of a Cap-Haitien hospital due to the lack of beds, according to images circulating on social networks.
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In the town of Cap Haitien, a fuel tank exploded. More than 40 people were killed and dozens injured, according to media reports. pic.twitter.com/L5YWGgAM2f
– News 507 and El Mundo (@agrimensuraferg) December 14, 2021
Since last October, Haiti has experienced fuel supply problems, leading to the spread of informal trade and transforming fuel into a precious commodity.
Last week, the Haitian government announced a sharp increase in tariffs for oil derivatives, hikes that range from 24% in the case of gasoline to 108% in the case of diesel.
However, fuel prices on the black market are much higher, depending on the severity of the fuel shortage.
Last weekend, the first protests against rising fuel prices took place in Port-au-Prince.
In July 2018, the announcement of the increase in fuel prices caused several days of violent demonstrations in the streets and tensions in Haiti that shook the power bases of the then president, Jovenel Moise, and caused the resignation of the prime minister, Jack. Guy Lafontant. (I)
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