Haiti's culture ministry dismisses 2 officials after stampede that killed 25

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Two state officials in Haiti were dismissed from their posts on Tuesday following a stampede at a mountaintop fortress that killed 25 people over the weekend.

The Ministry of Culture and Communication said in a statement that it fired a director with Haiti’s Institute for the Preservation of National Heritage, accusing him of “serious negligence.” Also dismissed was a director with the ministry, which officials accused of “biased passivity.”

The stampede occurred on Saturday at La Citadelle, a historic fortress and tourist site in northern Haiti, where an event organized by a local DJ on social media was held. The event was also promoted via loudspeakers on a vehicle driven through neighborhoods.

“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 department said in a statement, adding that the state “will fully assume its responsibilities.”

Dozens of people were injured in the stampede. Officials said late Monday that 30 of those who were hospitalized had since been released.

Nine suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident, including five police officers.

Eno Zephirin, a prosecutor in the city of Cap-Haitien, told Radiotélévision Caraïbes on Tuesday that authorities are investigating what caused the stampede. He declined to identify two of the nine suspects arrested. Two others were identified late Monday as employees of Haiti’s Institute for the Preservation of National Heritage, which oversees La Citadelle.