A STAMPEDE at a mountaintop fortress popular with tourists in northern Haiti has killed at least 25 people and injured dozens of others, authorities said today.

Authorities in the city of Cap-Haitien said that Saturday’s stampede in Milot “resulted in numerous cases of asphyxiation, trampling and loss of consciousness.”

They said dozens of people who attended traditional festivities at the historical site were taken to hospitals, while many others were reported missing.

“According to preliminary information … a situation of severe overcrowding, linked in particular to deficiencies in crowd management measures, triggered a stampede,” local authorities said in a statement.

The Haitian National Police said that it had opened an investigation to determine the exact cause of the incident.

The investigation led authorities to update the death toll to 25 fatalities, with autopsies under way.

About 30 people remained hospitalised and some of the victims’ bodies remained at the site on Sunday.

Haiti’s government offered its condolences to the families of the victims of the incident at the Citadelle Laferriere.

Donaldson Jean said that his sister had travelled there after studying diligently to get the grades necessary to be part of a school field trip for the best students.