16 Die in Crush at Carnival in Haiti Capital

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/world/americas/16-die-in-crush-at-carnival-in-haiti-capital.html

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A stampede on Tuesday left 16 people dead and 78 injured when a singer atop a Carnival float struck an overhead power line, igniting sparks and panic, the authorities said.

The accident occurred in the early morning hours of what is the biggest day of Carnival, the annual pre-Lenten celebration that for Haitians is a raucous respite from the miseries afflicting the country. The government canceled Carnival celebrations for later Tuesday, the third and final day of events, and instead held a silent parade that was led by President Michel Martelly, a former Carnival singer.

Most of the dead and injured were trampled when thousands of people on a downtown street, dancing and singing at nearly 3 a.m. as bands performed on floats, scattered for safety as people dashed off the float to avoid electrocution.

The float belonged to a hip-hop band, Barikad Crew, and the singer, known as Fantom, was among those injured, his friends told local journalists. Cellphone videos showed him dropping backward in a flash of sparks after coming into contact with the power line.

Hours later, dozens of people descended on the city’s general hospital and morgue, including James Jacinthe, 28, whose sister, Jasmine Capitaine, 27, died.

“Where there is an event, a musical event, she’s always there,” Mr. Jacinthe said of his sister, a street vendor who had a 6-year-old son.

Olivier Godson, 35, searched the morgue for Rita St. Cyr, the 26-year-old sister-in-law of his brother, but he received a call from a friend saying he had found her body at a city hospital.

“Rita didn’t like to stay alone,” Mr. Godson said. “She’s always hanging out with friends. She liked to go to the musical events.”

In another Carnival-related accident, three men were electrocuted Tuesday when a float they were pushing struck a power cable in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro.