Industrial Accidents Haiti

An explosion at midday Friday toppled a three-story building on a downtown corner packed with merchants and shoppers in Port-au-Prince. Officials said at least 15 people were killed and hundreds hurt. An army communique said chemicals exploded in a pharmaceutical laboratory in the building. The military sought to cut off speculation of a political motive. Tensions are high in Haiti nearly a year after the coup that toppled popularly elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

An explosion at midday Friday toppled a three-story building on a downtown corner packed with merchants and shoppers in Port-au-Prince. Officials said at least 15 people were killed and hundreds hurt. An army communique said chemicals exploded in a pharmaceutical laboratory in the building. The military sought to cut off speculation of a political motive. Tensions are high in Haiti nearly a year after the coup that toppled popularly elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.