Haiti declares three days of national mourning for 25 killed in stampede


People help to make stretchers to transport the bodies of victims after Haiti's Civil Protection for the Nord Department said a stampede killed several people at the Laferriere Citadel, an early-19th-century fortress packed with students and visitors for an annual celebration of the UNESCO World Heritage site, in Milot, Haiti, April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Richardson Ulysse

PORT-AU-PRINCE, April ⁠12 (Reuters) - Haiti declared three days ⁠of national mourning on ‌Sunday, a day after a deadly stampede killed 25 people during an annual ​celebration thronged by students ⁠and visitors ⁠at its Laferriere Citadel tourist attraction.

In ⁠a ‌national address, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé ⁠said mourning would begin from Tuesday, ​and ‌the government would cover the funeral ⁠expenses ​for disaster victims.

Earlier in the day, Emmanuel Pierre, the national ⁠head of the civil ​protection authority, told Reuters authorities had revised down the death toll ⁠to 25 from an initial tally of 30.

The early-19th-century fortress built shortly after Haiti's independence ​from France is ⁠a UNESCO World Heritage site.

(Reporting by ​Harold Isaac in ‌Port-au-Prince; Writing by ​Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey, Mexico; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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