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Cap-Haïtien in Haiti (archive image)
Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP
Dozens of people were killed in a tank truck explosion in Haiti.
"It was with dismay and shock that I received the sad news that a tanker truck loaded with gasoline exploded in Cap-Haïtien last night, causing around 40 deaths, dozens of injuries and significant property damage," Prime Minister Ariel Henry wrote on Twitter.
The deputy mayor of Cap-Haïtien, Patrick Almonor, spoke of 47 deaths on the radio.
Numerous other people were injured.
The hospitals are overwhelmed with the high number of injuries, according to a report in the newspaper "Le Nouvelliste".
The tanker truck was apparently involved in an accident before the explosion and overturned.
As a result, numerous people are said to have come to the scene of the accident to steal gasoline.
However, the fuel ignited and the truck exploded.
Haiti is the poorest country on the American continent and suffers from violence, corruption and natural disasters.
At the beginning of July, President Jovenel Moïse was shot in his residence, the background to this remains unclear.
Criminal gangs control large areas, especially around the capital Port-au-Prince.
ptz / dpa