Over a dozen people were killed in Haiti on Tuesday after someone on top a Carnival float was electrocuted, resulting in a stampede as frightened festival-goers rushed the streets, officials and witnesses told the Associated Press.
Throngs of people were gathered in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince for the carnival parade, one of many events during the pre-Lenten international celebration, when a singer on top of a float was electrocuted as the structure passed under a power line.
The singer, known as Fantom from the Haitian hip-hop group Barikad Crew, grazed the wire and sparks flew, causing others to jump off the float and sending the crowd fleeing for safety.
"I saw the wire falling and sparks and I started running for my life," 22-year-old Natacha Saint Fleur, who was near the float, told the AP.
At least 16 people were killed and 78 were injured, Prime Minister Evans Paul said. A doctor at General Hospital, where the bodies and those injured were taken, said most of the victims appear to have been trampled to death. Fantom, reportedly electrocuted in the head, is expected to make a full recovery.
The scene at the hospital was also chaotic, with victims being carried inside and others anxiously seeking information about loved ones, the AP reported. Screams were heard as the dead were identified at the morgue.
It's common for parade floats to have someone positioned on top to move low-hanging power lines. Investigators are reviewing video footage of the incident to determine the cause, Nadia Lochard, coordinator for the Department of Civil Protection, told the Miami Herald.
"It is clear what happened was an accident," the prime minister said.
Paul declared a state of national mourning from Wednesday to Saturday when the funerals are expected to be held.
