Haiti: MSF responds to gasoline truck explosion in Cap-Haitien

MSF's Tabarre hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, received six patients from Cap-Haitien on December 14 who were injured in a fuel truck explosion.

Pierre Fromentin/MSF

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in Haiti are treating patients injured in a gasoline truck explosion in Cap-Haitien last night, which caused more than 60 deaths and many severe injuries, according to initial reports.

An MSF medical team traveled from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien this morning to begin assisting the local medical response. Six patients were airlifted from Cap-Haitien to Port-au-Prince today and admitted to MSF's Tabarre hospital, which specializes in the treatment of severe burns.

"This tragic event only underscores the need for prevention and treatment of burns, which are a chronic problem in Haiti," said Jean-Gilbert Ndong, MSF medical coordinator. "Surviving and recovering from a severe burn is a difficult process that requires specialized medical care, often for weeks or months. We will continue to receive patients according to the needs and our capacity."