A third crude oil tank collapsed this monday at the storage terminal Matanzas, in Cubafollowing a spill from a second tank that had caught fire on Saturday, the local governor said Monday, about what is the biggest oil accident in years on the island.
Cuba had made some progress over the weekend in combating the flames, with the help of Mexico and Venezuela, but on Sunday night the fire began to spread from the second tank, which collapsedsaid Mario Sabines, governor of Matanzas province, some 130 kilometers east of Havana.
“The risk that we had announced occurred,” he said.
“The third tank also collapsed, after the second tank spilled fuel and further compromised the situation in the early hours of the morning,” Sabines told state television. He noted that the situation is “very complex,” with “three tanks on fire” and the fire area “pretty wide.”
Sabines said that “teams” from Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela are positioning themselves to spread the extinguishing foam, which “may take a while.”
The fight against the serious industrial fire continues this Monday after the uncertainty unleashed by the great explosion that occurred shortly before midnight.
According to the latest evaluations, this event – with a flare that rose tens of meters – was due to the collapse of the second deposit affected by the flames. The facilities consist of 8 tanks of 50,000 cubic meters each.
At first, the official media indicated that the explosion was due to the fact that the fire had reached a third tank.
Since early in the morning, several army helicopters have been cooling the area with seawater.
The fuel spill caused the surrounding brush to burn, as well as several nearby industrial facilities.. Damage has not been assessed.
This Monday, a powerful water pump, part of the Venezuelan aid, is expected to come into operation to pump a chemical agent that would help put out the flames.
DAMNIFIED
At least three people, according to official media, were injured in this strong explosionaccording to the first unofficial count.
So far, the human balance of this industrial fire is one dead, 16 missing and 125 injured, with 24 hospitalized, seven of them in critical or serious condition. according to the latest medical report, released this Monday. 101 people were discharged.
The missing are mainly firefighters who were surprised by the explosion of the second tank when they were working on the front line to stop the fire in the first. The recovery of the bodies will not begin until the flames are extinguished, explained the Cuban government.
In addition, more than 4,000 people have been evicted from Matanzas distribution housing located in the vicinity of the industrial park.
The fire was declared on Friday at 19 local after lightning struck one of the eight tanks that are part of this fuel storage plant.
This tank contained 26 million liters of crude oil, 50% of its capacity, according to the state-owned Cubapetróleos.
The flames reached a second tank early Saturday morning. With 52 million liters of fuel oil inside, this deposit exploded at midnight on Sunday, spreading part of the burning content.
Between Sunday night and early Monday two burning tanks collapsed, causing three more minor injuries.
(With information from EFE and AFP)
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