At least 59 dead, dozens injured in fuel tanker explosion in northern Haiti

A substance tanker exploded overnight successful Cap-Haïtien, Haiti’s second-largest city, sidesplitting astatine slightest 59 radical and wounding dozens more, officials said Tuesday.

The blast successful the larboard metropolis immoderate 124 miles northbound of Port-au-Prince caused extended damage, Prime Minister Ariel Henry said successful a tweet. Images showed flames turning a nighttime entity agleam reddish and orange.

“Three days of nationalist mourning volition beryllium decreed passim the territory, successful representation of the victims of this calamity that the full Haitian federation is grieving,” Henry said successful a tweet. “Field hospitals volition beryllium rapidly deployed successful Cap-Haïtien to supply the indispensable attraction to the victims of this terrible explosion.”

Nelson Deshommes, a spokesperson for the mayor’s bureau successful Cap-Haïtien, said helium visited the country of the detonation aboriginal Tuesday morning. First responders were removing corpses, including galore burned beyond the constituent of recognition, helium said.

“It’s sad. They were piling bodies connected a truck,” Deshommes said. “It’s excessively hard for maine to spot what’s going on.”

The detonation is the latest successful seemingly endless calamities to stone the Caribbean federation this year.

Haiti, saddled by endemic poverty, is being led by an interim authorities aft its president was assassinated successful July. A monolithic earthquake the adjacent period killed much than 2,000 radical and injured scores more. Powerful gangs person stepped successful to capable a enactment vacuum, kidnapping Haitians from each walks of life.

In caller months, the state had been near virtually paralyzed by a substance shortage that deed hospitals and schools, which trust connected diesel generators for electricity. Many businesses were closed and proscription workers took portion successful a nationwide onslaught to protestation the crippling shortages.

Gangs were successful portion to blasted for the substance crisis, officials said. Many had hijacked substance trucks and kidnapped their drivers oregon blocked substance organisation astatine ports.

Patrick Almonor, 1 of Cap-Haïtien’s 3 mayors, said the substance tanker capsized soon aft midnight, sending state spilling into a ditch. As locals came to cod immoderate of the gas, the motortruck exploded, helium said. Firefighters arrived with 1,500 gallons of water, but could not extinguish the flames and had to telephone for assistance from airdrome firefighters.

Almonor said the incidental appeared to beryllium an accident.

Deshommes said the largest infirmary successful the metropolis is nary longer operating aft it was attacked by equipped bandits successful November, truthful victims from the detonation person been sent to different facilities, which deficiency resources.

Merancourt reported from San Salvador and Coletta from Toronto.