PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – A truck carrying gasoline overturned and exploded in a fireball in northern Haiti, engulfing cars and homes in flames as it killed more than 50 people and injured dozens of others in the latest disaster to hit a country whose troubles deepened greatly this year.
The explosion occurred late Monday in the coastal city of Cap-Haitien as survivors rushed outside and yelled as they observed how the fire consumed part of their neighborhood. Hours later, a local hospital was overwhelmed with injured people as it pleaded for basic supplies and more medical staff.
Dozens of bodies lay near the explosion site as some people used buckets to scoop up gasoline from the truck and the street to take back to their homes, Dave Larose, a civil engineer who works in Cap-Haitien, told The Associated Press.
The explosion occurred as Haiti struggles with a severe shortage of fuel and spiraling gas prices that recently forced hospitals to turn away patients, temporarily shut down gas stations, schools and businesses and prompted the government of U.S. and Canada to urge its citizens to leave while they still could.
“It’s terrible what our country has to go through,” Larose said.