A TRUCK carrying gasoline exploded in northern Haiti on Tuesday - killing more than 53 people and injuring dozens of others.

       Horror footage appeared online apparently showing the aftermath of the explosion - with ferocious flames pouring from the wreckage of the vehicle.

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       At least 53 have been killed in the blast in Haiti Credit: Twitter 4

       Horror footage apparently showing the aftermath appeared online Credit: Twitter

       The blast happened late Monday in the city of Cap-Haitien, Prime Minister Ariel Henry said, adding that he was devastated.

       Three days of national mourning will be decreed throughout the territory, in memory of the victims of this tragedy that the entire Haitian nation is grieving, he tweeted.

       Horror footage appeared online apparently showing the aftermath of the explosion - with ferocious flames pouring from the wreckage of a vehicle.

       Dozens of bodies lay on the street hours after the explosion as a small crowd stood around them.

       It was not immediately clear what caused the massive blast.

       Patrick Almonor, deputy mayor of Cap-Haitien, told The Associated Press that at least 53 deaths and more than 100 injured have been reported following the explosion that burned around 20 homes near the site.

       He said he expects the number of deaths to keep rising because people who died in their homes have not yet been counted.

       Prime Minister Ariel Henry said in a tweet: “Three days of national mourning will be decreed throughout the territory, in memory of the victims of this tragedy that the entire Haitian nation is grieving.

       “Field hospitals will be quickly deployed in Cap-Ha？tien to provide the necessary care to the victims of this terrible explosion.”

       Le Nouvelliste newspaper reported that hospitals were seeking supplies.

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       "We are overwhelmed", a person identified as Dr. Calhil Turenne told the paper.

       Dave Larose, a civil engineer who works in Cap-Haitien, told The Associated Press that he was driving when he saw ambulances and a crowd of people gathered along a road around 1 a.m.

       He said he observed how some people were using buckets to scoop up gasoline from the truck and the street to take back to their house.

       "It's terrible what our country has to go through," Larose said.

       The explosion occurred as Haiti struggles with a severe shortage of fuel and spiralling gas prices.

       Fuel deliveries across Haiti only resumed last month after a blockade by gangs who for nearly a month prevented trucks from loading at the main fuel ports.

       Many businesses were forced to shut down.

       As rescue workers cleaned up in the aftermath of the explosion, bodies covered in white sheets lay on the ground before they were loaded on to trucks to be taken away.

       The blast also damaged the fronts of houses and shops in the street and charred motorbikes and cars, Reuters journalists said.

       Former Prime Minister Claude Joseph also mourned the victims, tweeting, "I share the pain and sorrow of all the people."

       The United Nations office in Haiti said it stood ready to help the national authorities in its response, and offered its condolences to the families of the victims.

       Gangs have grown more powerful since the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise, which created a political vacuum and allowed criminal groups to expand their territory.

       The Haiti disaster comes a month after 92 people were killed in Sierra Leone when a tanker collided with a truck and exploded as a crowd gathered to collect leaking fuel.

       The explosion took place after the two vehicles hit each other in the capital Freetown.

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       People stand at the site of an explosion in Cap-Haitien Credit: Reuters 4

       The Prime Minister has declared three days of national mourning following the blast

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