Thursday at around 3:00 p.m. a tanker truck on national road #3 in the Ona-Ville area (Commune de Croix-des-Bouquet) overturned for an unknown reason and caught fire.

The truck had just filled up with petroleum products at the Varreux terminal and headed for Thomonde (Center Department) to deliver the fuel. The tank had several compartments, the first one filled with diesel, the others with gasoline. The fire broke out in the first compartment, as fuel spilled on the roadway...

It was when the firefighters were trying to put out the fire that the flames spread to the second compartment of gasoline, which exploded in a huge ball of fire, seriously burning at least 3 firefighters, a TV Caraïbes cameraman and several neighboring spectators oblivious to the danger. The victims were rushed to specialized hospital centers.

The absence of a nearby house in the accident area has helped limit the number of victims who could have been much more numerous.

Reacting to the accident, Pradel Henriquez, the Ministry of Communication wished "a speedy recovery to the victims".

TB/ HaitiLibre