Haiti’s prime minister has declared three days of national mourning, a day after a deadly stampede killed 25 people during an annual celebration thronged by students and visitors at the Laferriere Citadel tourist attraction.
In a national address, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime said mourning would begin from Tuesday, and the government would cover the funeral expenses for disaster victims.
Earlier on Sunday, local time, Emmanuel Pierre, the national head of the civil protection authority, told Reuters that authorities had revised down the death toll to 25 from an initial tally of 30.
The early 19th-century fortress built shortly after Haiti’s independence from France is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
One of Haiti’s most popular tourist attractions, the fortress had been packed with students and visitors on Saturday who had come to participate in the annual celebration of the site.
The stampede occurred at the entrance to the citadel, and rain had further exacerbated the disaster, according to the head of Civil Protection for Haiti’s Nord Department.
https://thewest.com.au/news/disaster-and-emergency/three-days-of-mourning-declared-in-haiti-after-stampede-c-22132661
