Matanzas.- The impact of an electrical discharge caused a fire this Friday in one of the fuel tanks located at the Supertanker Base, on the outskirts of this city.
The reservoir contained some 25,000 cubic meters of domestic crude, about 50 percent of its maximum capacity, when the intensity of the lightning struck the dome of the facility, known as the geodesic dome roof.
Explained Rigel Rodríguez, director of the territorial division of the Matanzas Fuel Marketer, who immediately took on the task of putting out the fire and preventing the flames from reaching other similar containers located in the area.
Basically using water and foam, specialized media and forces from the Ministry of the Interior and the Revolutionary Armed Forces joined forces to control and suffocate the fire, which in turn caused a large column of smoke, visible from anywhere in the small city. .
Evert Eduardo Díaz, director of that same entity, added that to appease the momentum of the flames it was also necessary to carry water from the nearby bay.
The highest authorities of the Party and the Government of the territory appeared at the scene of the accident.
Although the causes of the incident are yet to be evaluated, it seems that there was a fault in the lightning rod system that could not withstand the energy of the electrical discharge.
Misbel Palmero Aguiar, general director of the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant, clarified that said unit remains in service and that the burned tank has nothing to do with pumping fuel to the plant.
Fire caused by an electrical discharge at the base of a super tanker #Massacres. Authorities, fire department, MININT, the FAR are on the spot. Confidence that the situation will be controlled #ForceMatanzas #Cuba #Massacres @DiazCanelB @DrRobertoMOjeda pic.twitter.com/OCxqMxtIlx
– Susely Morfa González (@SuselyMorfaG) August 6, 2022