A bus driver speeding away from a fatal accident in Haiti has led to the deaths of 34 people when the vehicle hit a group of pedestrians. The incident started when the driver of the bus mowed down two people, killing one.

"The bus first hit two pedestrians, leaving one dead and one injured," the director of the Civil Police said.

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Director of the Civil Protection Authority, Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, told Agence France Presse that the driver attempted to flee from the scene and while speeding away, hit three bands of Rara musicians, Haiti street performers.

Haiti's National Ambulance Centre said that 11 people died at the scene while another nine people were declared dead after being taken to hospitals in Gros Morne and Gonaives.

"The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside," said Faustin Joseph, civic protection coordinator for the area. "The bus, the passengers and the driver were all placed into the care of the local authorities."

After the accident, other musicians and people in the parade began throwing rocks at the bus and passing vehicles, injuring other people, said Albert Moulion, the Ministry of the Interior's spokesman, according to the Globe and Mail.

The horrific accident sparked a huge rescue operation attended by firefighters and ambulance crews.

The death toll is currently at 34, with 17 people sustaining injuries, according to Reuters. The accident took place early on Sunday (12 March) at the Haitian city of Gonaives, around 90 miles outside Port-au-Prince.

In the chaos after the accident and hoping to find out more news, relatives of the victims surrounded the hospitals.

The cause of the accident is being investigated. Haiti's roads are notoriously dangerous, with road safety rarely observed by drivers and other users. Hundreds of people are killed or injured every year on the roads which are in poor condition.