Dozens of people were killed in a tanker truck explosion in the Caribbean state of Haiti.
At least 60 people were killed when a tanker truck loaded with gasoline caught fire and exploded in the city of Cap-Haïtien, Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor said on RFM radio station on Tuesday.
The number of victims could continue to rise.
Around 20 houses burned down after the explosion.
Numerous people were injured.
The hospitals are overwhelmed by the high number of injuries, according to a report in the newspaper "Le Nouvelliste".
The authorities announced that they would set up field hospitals in Cap-Haïtien to treat the wounded.
“The city is in shock.
People are in a panic and now we see the extent of the destruction.
Many injured and burned people are taken to hospital.
It's dramatic, ”HPN news agency quoted an eyewitness as saying.
Violence, Corruption and Natural Disasters
The Haiti government ordered a three-day state mourning.
"On behalf of my government and the entire Haitian people, I extend my deep condolences to the families of the victims and all those who are directly or indirectly affected by this tragedy," Prime Minister Henry Ariel wrote on Twitter.
The tanker truck was apparently involved in an accident before the explosion and overturned.
As a result, numerous people flocked to the site to steal gasoline.
The fuel ignited and the truck exploded.
There has been a great shortage of fuel in Haiti for weeks.
Blockades and attacks by criminal gangs who control areas and important roads are preventing fuel deliveries in the poor Caribbean country.
Haiti is the poorest country on the American continent and suffers from violence, corruption and natural disasters.
According to the United Nations, around 4.4 million of Haiti's eleven million inhabitants need humanitarian aid.