The death toll from Monday night鈥檚 fiery explosion in Cap-Ha茂tien, Haiti, is more than 60.
One Haitian expat from Miami who鈥檚 in the country, told SA国际传谋 Tuesday afternoon he was searching for a friend who鈥檚 missing in the disaster 鈥� and that the wife of another friend was killed.
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The explosion happened around midnight, after a gasoline tanker truck flipped over in the Samari district of Cap-Ha茂tien, a port city on Haiti鈥檚 north coast. So many people were killed because, instead of staying away from the accident, many ran to the truck to gather its spilled fuel, which is scarce in Haiti.
Daniel Eugene, a Haitian-American nurse in Miami who was born in Cap-Ha茂tien, is there this week visiting family. When SA国际传谋 spoke with Eugene he was in his car trying to find a friend whom he saw shortly before the explosion 鈥� and whose home is very near the accident site.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know his whereabouts right now," said Eugene said. "We are all trying to locate him, but he doesn鈥檛 answer his phone. And people are mourning all around us because Haiti right now is a country of tragedy. You know 鈥� it鈥檚 sad.鈥�
Eugene, who is also Florida director for the , said another friend鈥檚 wife was killed in the explosion.
This is just the latest calamity to hit Haiti in recent months 鈥� including the July assassination of President Jovenel Mo茂se and a major earthquake in August. Meanwhile, street gangs have taken over much of Haiti 鈥� and have hijacked much of its gasoline, adding to the country鈥檚 economic implosion.
鈥淭hat caused a black market," said Eugene. "Gas is like gold in Haiti. And the government isn鈥檛 strong enough to prevent these things from happening.鈥�
Dozens were seriously injured in the blast, many with life-threatening burns. Eugene said after searching for his friend, who is a high school teacher, he would go to one of Cap-Ha茂tien鈥檚 overwhelmed hospitals to offer nursing assistance.
