At least 17 people are missing and 77 injured, three of them in critical condition, is the result of the large-scale fire that started this Friday evening at the Supertanker Base in Matanzas, Cuba, as a result of an electrical discharge that hit a tank of 50.000 cubic meters of crude oil.
Rigel Rodríguez Cubells, director 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.
So far, the authorities have not been able 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. This keeps the fuel tank on and reduces the water cooling of the nearest fuel tank, reducing the chance 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 journalist Mario J. Pentón, the inhabitants of the city are evacuating by their own means for fear that the fire will spread and also to avoid the damage caused by the toxic gases that already cover a large part of the region's skies, reaching even in Havana, more than a hundred kilometers from the fire.
The Cuban authorities have deployed several rescue and salvage units. In several images, helicopters can be 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 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.
