A stampede at a mountaintop fortress popular with tourists in northern Haiti has left at least 25 dead and dozens injured, authorities said.
According to municipal authorities in the city of Cap-Haïtien, Saturday's stampede in Milot "resulted in numerous cases of asphyxiation, trampling, and loss of consciousness."
Dozens of people who were attending traditional festivities at the historic site were taken to hospital, while many others are missing.
According to initial reports, a severe overcrowding situation, linked in particular to shortcomings in crowd management measures, triggered a stampede ," local authorities said in their statement.
The Haitian National Police stated in a separate press release that they had opened an investigation to determine the exact cause of the incident. The investigation led authorities to revise the death toll to 25. Autopsies were underway on Sunday.
Police reported that 30 people remained hospitalized. The agency also urged the public to continue cooperating with authorities and to refrain from spreading rumors.
The Haitian government offered its condolences to the families of the victims of the incident at the Citadelle Laferrière.
Some of the victims' bodies were still at the scene on Sunday.
