At least 50 people were killed in a gas truck explosion in Haiti.

AFP, PORT-AU-PRINCE According to a local authority, at least 50 people were murdered when a gas truck exploded in the Haitian city of Cap-Haitien on Tuesday morning, with the death toll expected to grow.

Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor said he saw more than 50 badly charred bodies at the bomb scene, while Prime Minister Ariel Henry estimated the dead toll at at 40 in an earlier tweet.

The people he witnessed had been “burned alive,” according to Almonor, who added, “It is hard to identify them.”

The tanker is suspected to have gone over when the driver lost control while swerving to avoid a motorbike taxi, according to Almonor.

Fuel poured down the road, prompting people to rush to collect the tanker’s gas, which is in limited supply as Haiti struggles to cope with a severe fuel scarcity brought on by criminal gangs strengthening their hold on the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Around 20 residences in the region were also set ablaze by the explosion, according to Almonor, although no information on the number of victims inside the homes was available at the time.

As the injured were transferred to the nearby Justinien University Hospital, the facilities became overburdened. A nurse told AFP, “We don’t have the ability to handle the quantity of critically burned victims.” She added, “I’m worried we won’t be able to save them all.”

Following the explosion, Haiti’s prime minister declared a time of national mourning, claiming that “about 40 people” were killed and many were injured. “I learnt with grief and anguish last night in Cap-Haitien of the dreadful news of a gas tanker explosion,” Henry tweeted. “Three days of national mourning will be declared across the country in honour of the victims of this disaster that has wreaked havoc on the Haitian people.”

Field hospitals will be quickly sent to assist in the care of the bomb victims, Henry pledged.