More than 60 people were killed by a fuel truck explosion in Haitian city of Cap-Haitien, though the full death toll is not yet known, Haitian health ministry official Dr. Laure Adrien said in a news conference on Tuesday.
The local hospital was stretched trying to treat the injured, the total number of whom is still not known, Mayor Pierre Yvrose told Reuters.
"We need human resources, and also material resources, namely, serum, gauze, and anything that can be used in case of serious burns," Yvrose said.
The government declared three days of mourning for the dead.
The truck carrying gasoline overturned around midnight in the area of Sanmarie on the eastern end of Cap-Haitien, according to local media.
The Caribbean nation has suffered from a wave of violence this year by gangs who for nearly a month prevented fuel trucks from loading at its main fuel ports, forcing many businesses to shut down. Fuel deliveries resumed last month.
Gangs have grown more powerful since the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise, which created a political vacuum and allowed criminal groups to expand their territory.
"I learned, with desolation and emotion, the sad news of the explosion, last night, in Cap-Haitien, of a tanker truck which transported gasoline," Henry wrote on Twitter.
J’ai appris, avec désolation et émoi, la triste nouvelle de l’explosion, hier soir, au Cap-Haïtien, d’un camion citerne qui transportait de l'essence et qui a causé, selon un bilan partiel, une quarantaine de morts, des dizaines de blessés, ainsi que d’importants dégâts matériels
— Dr Ariel Henry (@DrArielHenry) December 14, 2021