At least 15 dead, 40 injured in Haiti gasoline tanker explosion

Sept. 14 (UPI) -- At least 15 people were killed and 40 more seriously burned in an explosion of a gasoline tanker in Haiti, the Caribbean nation's prime minister said Saturday.

Sixteen of the injured were transferred to hospitals in Fonds des Blancs and Les Cayes near the accident site in the Nippes Department, Prime Minister Garry Conille wrote on the X social media platform.

A emergency airborne evacuation effort coordinated by the prime minister's office in collaboration with the national health authority, Médecins Sans Frontières and the World Health Organization was to be organized as quickly as possible to transport the injured to the capital Port au Prince, Conille said.

Initial reports indicated the blast happened in an area known as Morne Calbassier, in Miragoane, Haiti.

Witnesses said the incident began when the tank of a gasoline truck was punctured following a collision with a stalled vehicle and local residents began approaching the wreck seeking to collect the spilled fuel, Spanish broadcaster RTVE reported .

Despite warnings from the driver not to get too close, some of the residents died when the tanker then exploded.

Up to 20 motorcycles and cars have burned in the accident, officials said.