Two state officials were dismissed in Haiti following a stampede at La Citadelle, a historic fortress and tourist site in northern Haiti, that killed 25 people over the weekend, according to the Ministry of Culture and Communication.
In its statement, the ministry said it dismissed a director with Haiti’s Institute for the Preservation of National Heritage and accused him of “serious negligence.” The ministry also dismissed a director with the ministry after officials accused him of “biased passivity,” the statement said.
The stampede occurred on Saturday at La Citadelle during an event promoted online and through neighborhood loudspeaker announcements. The AP report said the event was organized by a local DJ on social media and was promoted via loudspeakers on a vehicle driven through neighborhoods.
The ministry said it believed the tragedy was the result of “administrative negligence,” while it said it would not go into details of the criminal investigation. The ministry said the state “will fully assume its responsibilities.”
At least dozens of people were injured. Officials said late Monday that 30 of those hospitalized had been released, AP reported, while prosecutors pursued arrests in the case.
Prosecutors said nine suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident, including five police officers. Prosecutor Eno Zephirin told Radiotélévision Caraïbes on Tuesday that authorities were investigating what caused the stampede, and he declined to identify two of the nine suspects.
Zephirin said late Monday that two other suspects were employees of Haiti’s Institute for the Preservation of National Heritage, which oversees La Citadelle.