Mexico City, Dec 15 (IANS): More than 40 people have died and dozens were injured after a fuel truck exploded in northern Haiti, media and government officials have said.

The blast occurred in Haiti's northern port city of Cap-Haitien, Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Tuesday tweeted, extending his condolences on behalf of the government and the Haitian people, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said field hospitals will be deployed to the area to help those affected, while announcing a three-day national mourning to commemorate the victims.

The fuel truck overturned after trying to avoid a motorcycle, and local residents rushed to collect the tanker's gas, Patrick Almonor, Deputy Mayor of Cap-Haitien, was quoted by reports as saying.

The explosion also burned nearly 20 homes nearby, said the Deputy Mayor, adding that he expects the death toll to keep rising because people who died in their homes have not yet been counted.

Haiti's former Prime Minister Claude Joseph tweeted on Tuesday that he was "shattered" by the news, saying that he shares the "pain and sorrow of all the people."

The explosion occurred as the Caribbean nation faces fuel shortages.

Early this year, hospitals in Port-au-Prince and other cities reported extremely low fuel reserves needed to power generators that keep services going.