At least 49 people were injured. this Saturday Explosion of a fuel tank in Matanzas (west Cuba), Since this Friday, two have already burned out after lightning unleashed a fire.
According to official media, nine serious, one critical. Those affected are mostly members of the emergency teams trying to put out the flames of the fire. There are also two journalists.
The affected crude oil deposits with a capacity of 50,000 cubic meters are located at the Supertanker Base in an industrial area of ​​Matanzas, near the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power station, one of the largest in Cuba.
According to the official press, the fire has not yet been brought under control.
The country’s president, Miguel DÃaz-Canel, and prime minister, Manuel Marrero, traveled to Matanzas at dawn to closely monitor the development of the incident and visited the injured at the nearby Faustino Pérez state hospital.
According to state television, Some families are being evacuated from Matanzas Considering the risk of flames spreading, they were removed from their homes in the neighborhoods of the city closest to the industrial zone.
a great one thick column of black smoke extends from the scene of the accidentIt covers Matanzas and reaches Havana, a hundred kilometers away.
The fire started around 7:00 pm local time (GMT) this Friday when an electrical discharge hit one of the eight raw tanks at Supertanker Base.
According to official media, a fire broke out that later affected a warehouse and at first appeared to be under control.
Again, strong wind made it difficult to extinguish and carried the flames to a second tank and around 7:00 am (11:00 GMT) local time on Saturday, it caused a new big explosion in another tank.
Source: Informacion
