Two state officials in Haiti were dismissed on Tuesday following a deadly stampede at the historic La Citadelle that left 25 people dead over the weekend.
The Ministry of Culture and Communication announced in a statement that it fired a director from the Institute for the Preservation of National Heritage, citing “serious negligence.” Another director within the ministry was also dismissed for what officials described as “biased passivity.”
The stampede occurred Saturday at the mountaintop fortress in northern Haiti during an event organized by a local DJ and promoted on social media. The gathering was also advertised through loudspeakers mounted on a vehicle that drove through surrounding neighborhoods, drawing large crowds to the site.
“The Ministry of Culture and Communication, without going into the details of the criminal investigation, believes that the tragedy at La Citadelle is the result of administrative negligence,” the ministry said, adding that the state “will fully assume its responsibilities.”
Dozens of people were injured in the incident. Officials reported late Monday that 30 individuals who had been hospitalized were later released.
Authorities have arrested nine suspects in connection with the tragedy, including five police officers. Two of those detained were identified as employees of the Institute for the Preservation of National Heritage, which oversees La Citadelle.
Eno Zephirin, a prosecutor in Cap-Haitien, told Radiotélévision Caraïbes that authorities are continuing investigations into what triggered the stampede. He declined to identify two of the suspects arrested.
Officials said the investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to determine responsibility for the deadly incident.
