24 Dead in Haiti Tanker Explosion... Prime Minister Calls Emergency Meeting

Explosion While Collecting Gasoline
Multiple Casualties and Some Severe Burns

On the 14th (local time), the death toll from a tanker explosion accident in the Caribbean island nation of Haiti rose to 24, AFP reported on the 15th.

The accident occurred near the southern port city of Miragoane in Haiti, injuring about 40 people. Some of them suffered severe burns.

Emmanuel Pierre, director of the Haiti Civil Protection Agency, stated that the number of deaths increased from 16 the previous day as rescue workers discovered additional charred bodies near the explosion site. The specific identities of the deceased have not yet been confirmed.

Among the injured, most are men, with three women and one child also included, according to foreign media reports.

On the 14th (local time), injured victims being transported after a tanker explosion accident in Haiti [Image source=Reuters·Yonhap News Agency, Office of the Prime Minister of Haiti]

According to witnesses, the explosion occurred as people gathered to collect gasoline leaking from the tanker.

Haitian Prime Minister Gary Conille convened an emergency government meeting to respond to the disaster.

Haiti has suffered from decades of poverty, natural disasters, and political instability, and since the assassination of then-President Jovenel Mo?se in July 2021, extreme chaos has continued due to gang violence. In 2021, at least 60 people died in a tanker explosion accident in Cap-Haitien.