Fuel truck explosion kills at least 15 people in Haiti

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A tanker truck carrying gasoline in Haiti on Saturday flipped and exploded, killing at least 15 people and seriously injuring 40 others, officials said.

Prime Minister Garry Conille provided the figures in an X post. Earlier, Radio Caraibes reported that 17 people had been killed.

Haiti’s hospitals are poorly equipped to treat victims of severe burns. The nation of 12 million people has also been struggling with fuel shortages, as fighting between gangs makes it more difficult to import goods into the country.

Saturday's explosion happened in Miragoane, a city of 60,000 people that was hit by a strong earthquake three years ago.

In 2021, 75 people were killed in Haiti's second largest city Cap Haitien, when another fuel truck overturned and unleashed a fireball that swept through several homes and businesses that were built closely next to each other. Some of those killed were onlookers who had rushed to the truck to try and scoop up fuel.