Haiti began a three-day period of mourning after a fatal stampede at the mountaintop Citadelle Laferrière left 25 people dead over the weekend. National police said seven people were arrested in Milot, the town at the fortress’s base, including five municipal police officers and two staff from the National Heritage Preservation Institute. Authorities said the detainees were being questioned but did not specify charges.
Officials initially reported 30 deaths before revising the toll to 25. Milot Mayor Wesner Joseph told AFP that 13 bodies were received at Sacre-Coeur Hospital and 12 were recovered at the citadel. He added that 25 injured people were being treated at the hospital.
Accounts differ on what sparked the panic. Some local reports blamed heavy rain. Mayor Joseph said his administration had no prior notice of any event at the citadel; later, authorities said a local DJ had invited people to an event via TikTok. The event charged about $8 for entry and attracted many children and young people, with videos showing hundreds making the arduous roughly 8-kilometer (5-mile) climb to the fortress.
AFP reported, citing the Civil Protection agency, that the stampede may have occurred during a traditional festival with unusually large crowds. The agency said a scuffle broke out between people inside who wanted to leave and those outside trying to enter, and that only one door was open for both entry and exit. The resulting panic led to asphyxiation, trampling, and loss of consciousness among visitors.
Citadelle Laferrière, near the northern port of Cap-Haïtien (currently Haiti’s main international gateway amid instability in Port-au-Prince), is a major tourist site and a symbol of the enslaved population’s hard-won independence. Built in 1820 to deter a feared French invasion that never occurred, the fortress stands as a historic emblem of Haiti’s independence.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher