The situation is “very complicated” with “three tanks on fire,” the Matanzas governor said.
THE fire which broke out on Friday in oil installations in Cuba is still raging out of control, with authorities announcing today that a third tank has been destroyed by flames.
It all started on Friday night when a lightning strike struck one of the eight tanks at the oil facility in Matanzas, 100 kilometers east of Havana. According to the management company, the tank contained 26,000 cubic meters of crude oil, or about 50% of its maximum capacity.
A second tank, which contained 52,000 cubic meters of fuel oil, was engulfed in flames by the powerful explosion that occurred in the early hours of Saturday.
Despite the large mobilization of firefighters with the assistance of helicopters, a new powerful explosion followed at midnight on Sunday, forcing the authorities to order the immediate evacuation of the area.
“What we feared has happened” with the destruction of a third tank containing crude oil, Matanzas Governor Mario Sabines Lorenzo said in a video message on Twitter today.
The situation is “very complicated” with “three tanks on fire,” the governor said without specifying how many thousands of cubic meters of crude oil the third tank contained. He added that firefighting forces from Mexico and Venezuela have rushed to help.
Yesterday, Sunday, four planes from Mexico and Venezuela landed in Varadero, 40 kilometers north-east of Matanzas, carrying experts in dealing with fires at oil installations and tons of fire-fighting foam.
According to the latest report, one firefighter lost his life and the fate of 16 others is unknown, while 26 injured remain in hospitals and five of them are hospitalized in critical condition.
Relatives of the missing met with Cuban President Miguel DÃaz-Canel. “My son did his duty, he went” to the fire, said the tearful mother of a 19-year-old firefighter.
The fiery nightmare came three months after an explosion at the Saratoga Hotel in Havana killed 46 people – including a tourist from Spain – and injured more than 50.
RES-EMP
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