'Horrible scene': At least 25 dead, 40 injured while trying to collect leaking fuel from tank in Haiti

A fuel truck explosion in Haiti's Southern Peninsula on Saturday (Sep 14) claimed the lives of at least 25 people and left dozens injured with serious burns, reported local media.

The tanker truck explosion near the coastal city of Miragoane in the department of Nippes happened as the victims were trying to collect fuel from the leaking vehicle revealed reports.

PM visits the explosion site

Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the site of the tragic explosion, where at least 40 have been injured.

In a statement, he said he had just witnessed a "horrible scene".

"This is a horrible scene, what I have just witnessed."

Conille said that some of the most seriously injured people were evacuated via helicopter to nearby hospitals and that emergency teams were working to "save the lives of the seriously injured".

He also promised government support for the victims and their families and called an emergency government meeting to deal with the tragedy.

As per news agency Reuters, earlier authorities had announced that 16 bodies were completely charred and unrecognisable after the blast.

People were collecting fuel

The incident happened around 7 am local time. A witness said that the truck's gas tank had been punctured by another vehicle, and, seeing that people had rushed to the site to collect fuel.

In a video interview with local outlet Echo Haiti Media, the unidentified witness said,"There were a lot of people. Those who were close to the truck got pulverised."

He said that it was difficult to know the actual death toll.

"You can't know, because there were a lot of people, bystanders and those collecting oil. There were a lot of people," he said.

According to Reuters, this comes amid fuel deliveries in Miragoane. In recent weeks, fuel trucks were being transported via ferries to avoid transported via ferry to avoid gang-controlled highways surrounding the capital of Port-au-Prince.

Previously, an incident in 2021, where people similarly attempted to take fuel from a fuel tanker in the city of Cap-Haïtien, had killed at least 60 people.

(With inputs from agencies)