What happened

A tanker truck carrying approximately 9,000 gallons of gasoline swerved to avoid a motorbike and overturned in the Samari neighborhood of Cap-Haïtien, Haiti's second-largest city, around midnight local time on 14 December 2021. Fuel leaking from the overturned truck was reportedly ignited by smoldering trash nearby. Large crowds had gathered around the leaking truck amid Haiti's severe nationwide fuel shortage — driven by gang control of fuel-distribution ports, which had prompted gang leader Jimmy Chérizier to announce temporary fuel-truck access shortly before the incident, sending residents scrambling for gasoline including on the black market. The resulting explosion killed 90 people, 14 of whom died after being hospitalized, and injured more than 120, some in a stampede as people rushed toward the spilled fuel; the blast ignited roughly 50 nearby homes and damaged businesses and vehicles. Emergency response was severely hampered: ambulances took up to five hours to arrive, 15 victims required airlifting, and the city's largest hospital had closed the previous month following gang attacks, forcing casualties into smaller, understaffed facilities lacking basic supplies. UNICEF delivered medical equipment for burn victims, and Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared three days of national mourning. This is documented as an accidental fuel-tanker explosion occurring amid a gang-driven fuel-supply crisis, not a deliberate attack.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.