Death, injuries, booze in Haiti carnival

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – At least one person was killed and hundreds more were injured at Haiti’s three-day “Carnival of Flowers,” police and medical sources said.

Police said the death occurred Sunday, July 28, when a man in his 30s fell off a float.

Some 800 people, including 4 young children, were treated for accident and knife injuries at emergency services that day and the next.

The generally noncritical injuries were largely attributed to altercations and the influence of alcohol.

“What’s alarming is the many young people, mostly girls, found inebriated. They’ve consumed alcohol and taken drugs,” a medical source said.

Tens of thousands of people participated in the first two days of the carnival, joined by President Michel Martelly, a popular singer-keyboardist before he entered politics. Martelly has presided over the festival in the past.

The festivities took place in a large public square near the presidential palace (National Palace), which was heavily damaged in the 2010 earthquake that killed 250,000 people.

Some 6,000 of the country’s 10,000 police were assigned to the festival.

“The carnival is a great, popular success. It will promote tourism and provide significant economic benefits,” Martelly said.

The political opposition and some sectors criticized the President over the carnival, particularly for starting the celebration on July 28, the day marking the start of US occupation in 1915.

Martelly has also drawn flak for the nearly $2 million spent organizing the event – money some say could have been used to help people still living in makeshift shelters 3 years after the earthquake.

Watch a video of the festivities here:

– Rappler.com