At least 15 people were killed and around 40 injured early on Tuesday when a float in a carnival parade hit power lines in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, officials said.
The float caught fire after it hit a high-voltage overhead power cable, witnesses said.
Video of the incident appeared to show the electric cable catch the head of a singer from the popular hip-hop band, Barikad Crew. Seven people were reported dead on the float, and others were killed in the ensuing panic.
The singer, known as Fantom, was in critical condition, according to Haitian media
President Michel Martelly expressed his “sincerest sympathies” to the victims in a Twitter message, while his wife visited hospitals treating the injured.
The accident took place on the second of an annual three-day street parade that coincides with other Mardi Gras carnivals around the world. The event attracts large night-time crowds eager to witness competing music bands atop highly decorated floats.
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