Tragically 60 people were killed in Haiti... a fuel truck exploded in them

At least 60 people were killed after a petrol tanker exploded in the city of Cap-Haitien, Haiti, Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor told RFM on Tuesday.

At the same time, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry wrote on his page on the social networking site Twitter, saying that he was sad and appalled when he learned of the news of the explosion, which occurred late on Monday evening, and that he had issued orders to declare three days of official mourning.

The newspaper "Le Nouvelleste" reported that many other people were seriously injured and that the capacity of many hospitals had already been exhausted with numbers of patients who were being treated in them until the time of the accident.

There are plans to set up field hospitals.

The tanker truck apparently overturned after the accident, spilling fuel.

This prompted residents to race to the scene to try to get gasoline, after which the fuel caught fire and the tanker truck exploded.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news