Haitian authorities continued their response Sunday to the site where a tanker truck that was leaking oil exploded on Saturday killing at least 24 people and injuring about 40, in southwestern Haiti’s Nippes region.
Haitian officials reported there were burn victims at Hôpital Sainte Thérèse de Miragoâne and Saint Boniface Hospital, in Fonds des Blancs. The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service and Médecins Sans Frontières assisted.
Interim Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille addressed Haitians on X after the explosion on Saturday saying his administration had deployed teams to help the local authorities in the Nippes region. The initial report counted 50 dead and 40 survivors who had been seriously injured.
“The government stands in solidarity with all the victims and their families and is planning evacuation by helicopter,” Conille wrote in Haitian Creole on X.
Dozens suffered burns while trying to recover some of the oil. Haitians have been dealing with fuel shortages as gangs control highways. Radio Caraibes later reported the death toll was at 17 and rising.
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