At least 17 people are missing and 77 injured, three of them in critical condition, is the balance of the fire of great magnitude that started this Friday evening in the Matanzas Supertanker Base, Cuba, product of an electrical discharge that impacted a tank of 50,000 cubic meters of crude oil.
Rigel Rodriguez Cubellsdirector of the Matanzas Territorial Fuel Marketing Division, explained that the Supertanker Base —which has eight tanks— has a lightning rod system, but apparently the discharge was higher than what it could protect.
Authorities have so far failed to extinguish the fire, which has spread to a fourth fuel storage tank. “The forces of the flames are still strong and can be seen from various points in the city,” said the Girón newspaper, a local media outlet.
We now leave the place of the fire in Matanzas. The fuel tank is kept on and the water cooling of the nearest other is kept, thus reducing the possibility of the fire spreading. Once again the Firefighters are doing feats. pic.twitter.com/ZHclPo1JET
– Manuel Marrero Cruz (@MMarreroCruz) August 6, 2022
Evacuation
According to reports by journalist Mario J. Pentón, the inhabitants of the city are evacuating by their means for fear that the fire will spread and also to avoid the toxic gas damage that already cover a large part of the region’s skies, even reaching Havana, more than a hundred kilometers from the fire.
Cuban authorities have deployed several rescue and salvage units. In several images, helicopters are seen loading water from the bay to try to cool the tanks that are near the burned area. However, the work has been unsuccessful. the fire is still out of control and, for this reason, the Cuban government has asked for help and advice from countries with experience in oil.
“International help is needed. The images remind me of Chernobyl. I advise all people from Matanzas to stay away from the place to save themselves from the toxic gases,” warned Pentón, a Cuban journalist based in Miami.
It is assumed that the disappeared are, for the most part, young people between 17 and 19 years old, who spent their military service in the rescue and rescue units, and were sent to put out the fire.