60 people killed in Haiti tanker explosion

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti — A gasoline tanker overturned and exploded in northern Haiti, unleashing a fireball that swept through homes and businesses on its way to killing at least 60 people in the latest disaster to befall the Caribbean nation.

The blast occurred shortly after midnight in CapHaitien, Haiti’s second-largest city, along the northern coast. Hours later, at dawn Tuesday, buildings and overturned vehicles were still smoldering as firefighters covered the burned bodies of the victims in white sheets and loaded them onto the back of a construction truck.

Hundreds of Haitians — who aren’t easily shocked amid so much of their country’s misfortune — looked on from rooftops in disbelief at the loss of so much life.

“It’s horrible what happened,” said Patrick Almonor, deputy mayor of Cap-Haitien, saying he expects the death toll to rise as first responders comb through buildings gutted by the fire. “We lost so many lives.”

Early reports indicate that the tanker was trying to avoid an oncoming motorcycle when it flipped. Onlookers rushed to the scene with buckets to scoop up what they could of the tanker’s valuable cargo, likely for resale on the black market, as the fuel spilled toward a pile of simmering trash, Dave Larose, a civil engineer who works in Cap-Haitien, told The Associated Press.

Haiti has been battered by severe fuel shortages that have shuttered gas stations, sent gas prices on the black market spiraling and forced hospitals and businesses to close as the U.S. and Canadian governments have urged their citizens to leave while they still can.

(AP/Joseph Odelyn) Firefighters stand next to what remains of a truck that was carrying gasoline after it overturned and exploded Tuesday in cap-Hatien, Haiti.