Victims wanted fuel

Tanker truck explodes: Over 20 dead in Haiti

A firefighter in Haiti (symbolic image)(Bild: AFP)

At least 24 people have been killed in the explosion of a tanker truck in Haiti. According to the civil defense authorities, around 40 other people were injured in the accident on Saturday. The victims are said to have been trying to catch the fuel leaking from the accident vehicle. 

Eyewitnesses reported that the victims had approached the tanker truck involved in the accident in order to get at its fuel. Six of the injured were transferred to a specialist clinic, while 13 others were unable to be transported.

Government calls emergency meeting
The accident occurred in Miragoâne in the southwest of the country. The port city is located around one hundred kilometers from Port-au-Prince, the capital of the impoverished Caribbean state. Interim head of government Garry Conille called an emergency meeting of the government because of the disaster. Haiti has been in a serious crisis for years, with political instability and economic hardship as well as gang violence contributing to the crisis.