There is an emergency in Cuba.
Authorities on Saturday asked for help from “friendly countries” to deal with the huge fire at an oil depot struck by lightning, in which at least one person was killed.
According to a latest assessment, there are 121 injured including the Minister of Energy, Livan Arronte.
Five people are in critical condition, three in very serious condition and 28 seriously injured.
The toll could be very heavy: 17 firefighters are indeed missing.
They were “in the area closest to the fire” when an explosion took place.
Some 1,900 people were evacuated from the disaster area located in the suburb of Mantanzas, a town of 140,00 inhabitants 100 kilometers east of Havana.
On Twitter, President Miguel Diaz-Canel estimated that bringing the fire under control “could take time”.
Despite the sanctions, the United States can help
Responses to Cuba's appeal were not long in coming.
The President thus expressed his "deep gratitude to the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile, which quickly offered material assistance".
"We are also grateful for the offer of technical assistance from the United States."
A little earlier, in fact, the United States Embassy in Havana had affirmed that it was "in contact" with Cuban officials, stating that "American law authorizes American entities and organizations to provide relief and a response disasters in Cuba".
The United States imposes a sanctions regime on the single party in power on the communist island.
A fire of unprecedented magnitude
Helicopters were hard at work battling the flames on Saturday, with water hoses brought in using cranes.
The fire broke out late Friday night when lightning struck one of the tanks at the oil depot.
In the early morning, the fire then spread to a second tank.
According to the official
Granma
newspaper , "there was a failure in the lightning rod system which could not withstand the power of the electric discharge".
According to Asbel Leal, director of trade and supply at the Cuban Petroleum Union (Cupet), the first tank "contained approximately 26,000 cubic meters of domestic crude, or approximately 50% of its maximum capacity" at the time of the disaster. .
The second tank contained 52,000 cubic meters of fuel oil.
According to him, the island had never been confronted with a fire of “the magnitude of today”.
The deposit powers the Antonio Guiteras power plant, the largest in Cuba, but pumping to the plant has not stopped.
This fire also comes as the island has been facing supply difficulties since May to meet the increased demand for electricity due to the summer heat.
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Cuba
Fire
Oil
Lightning
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