Haiti revises death toll after deadly crush at Citadelle fortress: 25 dead

Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald on Apr 12, 2026

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Haitians officials on Sunday revised the death toll from a stampede inside the country’s historic Citadelle Laferrière mountaintop fortress in northern Haiti to 25 from an initial estimate of 30. Another 33 people were also injured during the crush.

The revised toll came after judicial authorities in the town of Milot were finally able to access the remote mountaintop site, where a party on Saturday set off a deadly stampede and confusion among local officials as they struggled to determine what had happened and how many people had died.

Diansnic Joseph, a court bailiff who accompanied Justice of the Peace Myrlan Charlot to the site, shared his report with the Miami Herald as a five-member government ministerial committee tasked with overseeing Haiti’s historic sites — including the nearby Sans-Souci Palace — traveled to Cap-Haïtien and continued by road to Milot.

“Even though there was rain, we traveled to the Citadelle on foot, and we arrived at 3:25 p.m.,” said Joseph. “When we arrived in the courtyard, we found 12 corpses, including nine youths and three adults.”

The youth included six girls and three boys and among the dead adults were two women and one man.

Joseph confirmed that another 13 dead were confirmed at the local Hôpital Sacré Coeur, where 33 people were also being treated for injuries, including respiratory problems. Among the confirmed dead at the hospital was a young boy.

Joseph and Charlot walked through the site, where visitors can see cannons that overlook the city. “We don’t know if anyone fell off the cliff but from where the activity took place, we didn’t see that,” Joseph said.

Emmanuel Pierre, the head of Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection, said the casualty figures have also been confirmed by his team on the ground in Milot. The team is talking to survivors to determine the cause of the tragedy. While some of those hospitalized have been released, Pierre said others remain under doctors’ care.

The tragedy has raised immediate questions about how a private event, charging 1,000 gourdes, about $8, was authorized inside the fortress, commissioned by Haiti’s first and only king, Heny Christophe after the country gained independence to keep the French out. The massive structure was built between 1805 and 1820 by thousands of former slaves, and stands as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The tourist attraction has been known to welcome thousands of Haitians on a pilgrimage after Holy Week. In recent years, however, it’s become popular with party promoters advertising on social media.

“There was a TikToker who announced that there would be an activity in the parking lot of the Citadelle,” which is 30 minutes away on horseback and 45 minutes on foot, Joseph said. “That’s what was announced.”

“As of 3 in the morning people started arriving at the Citadelle... Up to noon, 1 p.m. people were still arriving,” Joseph said.

Joseph said witnessessaid municipal police officers were present and people were entering and exiting “through the same door,” creating a dangerous congestion. It appeared that victims were crushed while trying to move in both directions through the tight space, he said.