Fuel truck explosion in Haitian city kills over 60

CAP-HAITIEN (Haiti) • A massive fuel truck explosion has killed at least 62 people in Haiti, after bystanders swarmed the vehicle to collect the spilled fuel - a precious commodity in a nation plagued by acute shortages.

The blast on Tuesday in Haiti's second-largest city of Cap-Haitien is the latest disaster to hit the poverty-wracked Caribbean nation that is riven by gang violence and political paralysis.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry visited the scene of the tragedy, saying his heart was "broken" after meeting some of the dozens of injured in a hospital. He later said in a Twitter post that emergency funds had been released to help deal with the tragedy.

The charred remains of the truck sat in the built-up Samarie area of the city on the country's northern coast. Surrounding buildings were burned and scarred in the explosion.

Crowds gathered at the site, where some of the dead were left on the road in body bags.

"We have now counted 62 deaths," Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor said, adding that the authorities were still searching for victims in nearby buildings.

He said he had seen dozens of people "burned alive" and that it was "impossible to identify them".

The truck is believed to have flipped over after the driver lost control while swerving to avoid a motorcycle taxi.

Haiti's civil protection department confirmed that the truck had crashed and that passers-by had rushed to collect the leaked fuel, a rare commodity amid severe fuel shortages caused by the grip of criminal gangs on the capital Port-au-Prince.

"Following this accident, civilians took the chance to collect the gas by filling up makeshift receptacles, causing a terrible explosion that led to numerous victims and major material damage," said civil protection director Jerry Chandler.

Mr Almonor said around 40 houses in the area were damaged, but no details were yet available on the possible victims inside.

The Justinien University Hospital was overwhelmed with patients wounded in the blast. "We don't have the ability to treat the number of seriously burned people," said a nurse. "I'm afraid we won't be able to save them all."

A doctor at the hospital told local radio station Magik9 that two people had died there and 40 other patients were seriously injured. "The people are burned on more than 60 per cent of their body," he said.

After visiting the hospital, Mr Henry said: "With a broken heart, I saw the critical condition of some of our compatriots."

He had flown in accompanied by extra health workers, and said on Twitter that he had expressed "solidarity with the grieving families". He earlier promised that field hospitals would be rapidly deployed to help care for the blast victims.

Mr Henry, who has been leading the country since July after president Jovenel Moise was assassinated in a still mysterious plot, declared a period of national mourning following the blast.

Haiti has never produced enough electricity to meet the needs of its population. Even in well-off parts of the capital, the state-run Haiti electric utility provides, at most, only a few hours of power a day. The lack of fuel is also hitting water access in a country where many people rely on private firms to deliver water by truck to at-home systems.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE