At least 40 missing, seven injured after boat caught on fire in Cap-Haïtien

CAP-HAITIEN — A tragic incident occurred off the northern coast of Haiti Wednesday, when a boat carrying more than 80 passengers caught fire, leaving at 40 people missing and seven severely injured. The boat was en route for a 150-mile journey to Providenciales, the third largest island in Turks and Caicos—a common destination for those fleeing the ongoing crisis in Haiti.

According to a note from the police in Cap-Haïtien, the deadly incident occurred near Cormier Beach at around 4:00 a.m. as the boat was leaving the area, trying to escape to the Turks and Caicos with the people onboard.

“We’re asking the population to stop risking their lives in these types of illegal trips,” the note reads.

Some international media outlets have reported that at least 40 passengers died from the boat fire. However, the Cap-Haïtien police clarified to The Haitian Times that those passengers are currently recorded as missing since they have not been accounted for, and authorities have not yet found any bodies in the ocean water.

A Haitian Coast Guard crew managed to rescue 37 survivors, including seven—five men and two women–with critical burns who were transported to a nearby hospital.

What exactly caused the fire on the boat is not all clear. According to a witness account to the police, the fire was allegedly caused by a vodou ceremony conducted on board. Candles and matches used by passengers during the ritual ignited gasoline-filled drums, leading to an explosion, the passenger-witness said.

However, Civil Protection official Jean Henry-Petit said that the fire likely started when two drums of gasoline ignited. Passengers were drinking rum and whiskey, which may have come into contact with the flammable substance, causing the fire, a witness said.

The police force have opened an investigation to identify and arrest the organizers of the illegal trip.

“This illegal trip has caused many people in Cap-Haitien to be in tears,” Arold Jean, spokesperson for the departmental police force, said in a press conference on Thursday.

Desperate migration from the severely impoverished nation has been surging for months, as thousands of people flee the escalating violence from armed gangs that now controlled wide swaths of territory, notably in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and Artibonite Department.

Smugglers usually take advantage of people’s vulnerabilities in times of multiple crises, luring them to pay for long and dangerous trips on unsafe boats toward the United States or Caribbean islands. But they often end up being intercepted, injured or losing their lives.

As recently as June 27, U.S. Border Patrol agents intercepted over 100 Haitians who were attempting to travel to the U.S. illegally by boat, according to NBC News.

“We’re asking the population to inform the police when people are making these trips and where they are being done,” Jean said.

In recent days, families in northern Haiti have been suffering from a series of unfortunate incidents. On July 17, at least six people died and several others were injured after lightning struck a tree in the commune of Saint-Raphaël, about 39 miles from Cap-Haïtien. People had gathered under the tree to seek cover from rain while watching an amateur soccer game.

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