A fireball unleashed from an overturned gasoline tanker in northern Haiti swept through homes and businesses on its way to killing at least 75 people. Many of them were killed when they had scrambled to collect the spilled gasoline.
AFP
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How the accident occurred
The blast occurred shortly after midnight in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second largest city, along the northern coast. The tanker may have been trying to avoid an oncoming motorcycle when it flipped.
AFP
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Scramble for spilt fuel. And then...
Onlookers then rushed to the scene with buckets to scoop up what they could of spilt fuel, likely for resale on the black market. The fuel then flowed toward a nearby pile of smoldering trash.
AFP
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High death toll
Hours later, buildings and overturned vehicles were still fuming as firefighters covered the burned bodies of the young victims in white sheets and loaded them onto the back of a construction truck.
AFP
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The desperation in Haiti
Contributing to the high death toll is the desperation that has forced impoverished Haitians in recent months to scramble for gasoline due to severe shortages. Haiti has been on the brink since the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake a few weeks later that killed more than 2,200 people.
