At least 38 people were killed and about a dozen injured in northern Haiti late on Saturday after a bus drove into a parade of pedestrians while fleeing from an accident, civil protection authorities said on Sunday.
The bus, which was traveling from Cap Haitien to the capital, Port-au-Prince, initially hit two people in a town outside Gonaives in northern Haiti, killing one, Artibonite department civil protection head Joseph Faustin said.
The bus driver then fled and crashed into three “rara” parades in Mapou, about 5km away, Faustin said.
Rara parades, which usually take place around Easter, are groupings of musicians playing traditional instruments who are often joined by passers-by.
In total, 34 people were killed at the scene and an another four people died in hospital, Artibonite Deputy Representative Fred Henry said, adding that the incident had occurred about 4am.
“Usually the drivers involved in such accidents don’t stop because they are afraid they might be killed [in reprisal],” Henry said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.
The driver and passengers were taken to a nearby police station, for questioning said Patrick Cherilus, a Civil Protection spokesman for Artibonite
The bus driver later fled, said Jean Bazlais Bornelus, the police chief for the area.
After the accident, other musicians and people in the parade began hurling rocks at the bus and passing vehicles, injuring other people, Haitian Ministry of the Interior spokesman Albert Moulion said.
Haitian President Jovenel Moise called for an investigation and sent his “sincere condolences to the victims’ families and loved ones.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number