On Saturday, April 11, there was a deadly stampede at Citadelle Laferrière, a historic 19th-century mountaintop fortress in northern Haiti. leading to the deaths of at least 25 people and a dozen more injured.

The stampede happened on April 11th and occurred at some point around 4 p.m. at premier mountaintop fortress. Several people were taken to the hospital while several more were reported missing. Originally the death toll was believed to be 30 people, but was later dropped down to 25 people for the moment the next day by officials who came to the site and walked on foot. They found twelve bodies in the courtyard as well as thirteen people were confirmed to be dead at the hospital.In an article on AP News, authorities in the city of Cap-Haitien gave a statement that Saturday’s stampede,”resulted in numerous cases of asphyxiation, trampling and loss of consciousness”(AP News Apr 12). This was confirmed in the majority of the thirteen bodies at the hospital.

Citadelle Laferriere is a popular tourist attraction located near the northern port of Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second largest city and serves as Haiti’s gateway to the outside world. It was built between 1805 and 1820 and is considered the largest fortress in the western hemisphere and a powerful symbol of Haitian independence. During holy week, thousands of people visit the fortress and as of recent years the pilgrimages have become a gathering place for younger people. In fact, apparently no activities were on the Saturday of the incident at the citadel and it would turn out a local DJ had invited people there through TikTok. The structure itself is massive, but it has only one door where you can leave or enter, which could lead to a dangerous situation especially in large crowds where a stampede could be triggered easily which is exactly what happened that day. According to the article on Miami Herald, “In addition to children being asphyxiated, victims were also trampled at the gates of the Citadelle, where crowds started gathering before dawn Saturday”(Charles Apr 11th). As of now 5 police officers have been arrested and are being investigated in their roles in the stampede, since there are reports of the use of tear gas and warning shots might’ve triggered the stampede. Two employees and the mayor of Milot were also arrested due to their negligence as well.