A gasoline tanker overturned and exploded in northern Haiti, unleashing a fireball that swept through homes and businesses on its way to killing at least 75 people Tuesday, according to local authorities, in the latest tragedy to befall the Caribbean nation. The blast occurred shortly after midnight in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second largest city, along the northern coast. Hours later, buildings and overturned vehicles were still fuming as firefighters covered the burned bodies of the young victims in white sheets and loaded them onto the back of a construction truck.

Hundreds of Haitians — who aren't easily shocked amid their country's multiple misfortunes — looked on from rooftops in disbelief at the loss of so much life. Prime Minister Ariel Henry, himself a physician, visited a hospital where victims bandaged head to toe were fighting for their lives amid a shortage of medical supplies and health workers. “It's horrible what happened,” said Patrick Almonor, deputy mayor of Cap-Haitien, who said late Tuesday that 75 people had died.. “We lost so many lives.” Among survivors who spoke with the prime minister was Riche Joseph, who spent hours on the floor of Justinien University Hospital, the city's largest, connected to an IV while he waited for a bed.