Almost 2,000 people remain evacuated behind the raging fire that broke out last Friday at the Matanzas Supertanker Base1,300 in the homes of relatives or friends and another 600 in work centers in the territory.
According to the local government’s Facebook page, a good part of the residents who were forced to leave their homes were transferred to the Camilo Cienfuegos University and the Pedagogical University. In total, five neighborhoods and the Industrial Zone were protected.
In the house of high studies of the province there are refugees 458 people, including 90 children. Leyda Finalé de la Cruz, rector of that institution, said that they had greater capacity and that they were prepared to receive up to 700 evacuees.
In total, they report a deceased Y 121 injured, of which 36 remain hospitalized and 85 have already been discharged. The territory’s ambulance fleet was reinforced with nine preceding vehicles from other provinces.
Of the people who continue in the health centers, five are “in critical condition, three in serious condition and 28 in a state of care. Of those hospitalized: six are in the Faustino Pérez, in the Mario Muñoz hospital there are 21 patients, in the Almeijeiras there are two, in the Calixto there are 3, in the Miguel Enríquez there are two and in the Naval two patients”, added the local authorities. in your post.
In the care centers in the area, 157 beds remain available, while the medical personnel have the support of brigades from Havana. Meanwhile, firefighters and rescuers from Villa Clara have also joined.
the fatal victim was a 24-year-old firefighter identified as Elier Correa. also remain another 17 firefighters missingaffected by the explosion of the second fuel tank that occurred in the early hours of Saturday.
Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, Minister of Transportation, said that in the afternoon and evening of this day, humanitarian aid will begin to arrive from Mexico and Venezuela. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Construction supports the work to contain the flames with dump trucks.
During the night and early morning of this August 6 the main focus of firefighters and specialists will be on keeping the tanks cool that have not yet been affected by the flames and in the evacuation of the fuel that is stored in them.
A few hours ago the state press warned that the fire had grown in the area and that there were frequent explosions in the fuel tanks, in addition to a huge amount of black and toxic smoke, although this last indicator may mean that the combustion in the two affected tanks has decreased.
Pilots from the Air Force have joined the efforts of the rescuers on the ground, specifically a crew from Villa Clara, who, aboard helicopters and some small planes, have been throwing water from the Matanzas bay on the fire.
Alarmed by the powerful sinister, the Cuban government requested help from “friendly countries” experienced in handling these types of circumstances. The Joe Biden administration was one of the first to respond and assured that “United States law authorizes US entities and organizations to provide aid and response to disasters in Cuba.”
We need your help:
Like you, thousands of Cubans they read and support the independent journalism of CiberCuba. Our editorial independence begins with our economic independence: no organization from any country finances CyberCuba. We make our own agenda, we publish our opinions and we give a voice to all Cubans, without external influences.
Our newspaper has been financed until today only through advertising and own funds, but that limits what we can do. This is why we ask for your help. Your financial contribution will allow us to do more investigative journalism actions and increase the number of collaborators who report from the island, while maintaining our editorial independence. Any contribution, big or small, will be very valuable for our future. From only $5 and with just one minute of your time you can collaborate with CiberCuba. Thanks.
contribute now