Sixteen individuals lost their lives in southwestern Haiti on Saturday, and approximately forty others sustained injuries when a tanker truck, leaking fuel, exploded, according to Fidel Nicolas, the head of Civil Protection in the Nippes region.
The explosion took place as the victims were attempting to collect fuel that was seeping from the truck, witnesses informed AFP.
The injured were transported to the Sainte Therese hospital in the port city of Miragoane, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haiti's interim Prime Minister, Garry Conille, convened an emergency government meeting to address the catastrophe, as stated by Emmanuel Pierre, the national head of Civil Protection to AFP.
Pierre added that victims in critical condition would be transferred for treatment to other regional hospitals.
