Lightning strike causes fire at fuel depot in Cuba, leaving one dead and several injured

Americas, News August 8, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

A major fire broke out in the Cuban city of Matanzas, about 60 miles from Havana, after lightning struck a fuel storage depot.

The storage facility exploded after being struck by the lightning and the fire spread all across the area. The state media has reported at least 1 dead and several injured after the fire, while at least 17 people including several firefighters went missing during the fire.

The facility could hold at least 300,000 barrels of cured oil that were provided to refineries and used in energy production. Major fire at the fuel depot can worsen the country’s already intense fuel shortage problem and electricity blackouts.

Cuban firefighter authorities tried to control the fire on their own for one day before calling out for international help. 82 Mexican firefighters and 35 Venezuelan personnel arrived at the scene along with planeloads of fire-fighting chemicals.

The Mexican leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has become a close ally of Cuba, also sent workers from state oil company Pemex to help extinguish the fire. State media shared images showing one Cuban Armed Forces helicopter attempting to drop water over the flames.

Head of the Communist Party in Matanzas Susely Morfa Gonzalez told local reporters that officials feared another large-scale explosion at the scene in the remaining oil storage facility, however, the flames have been under control, and the area is surrounded by white smoke. She said that authorities are working to maintain the appropriate temperature to avoid the fire from spreading further into storage facilities around the main depot.

Fire is seen over fuel storage tanks that exploded near Cuba's supertanker port in Matanzas, Cuba on August 7, 2022 — *^{Fire is seen over fuel storage tanks that exploded near Cuba’s supertanker port in Matanzas, Cuba on August 7, 2022. (Image Credit: Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini)}*

The Cuban government also confirmed that it has accepted ‘technical assistance’ from the U.S. on the matter. The U.S. has imposed severe sanctions and a trade embargo on Cuba; however, the sanctions and embargo do not hurdle the provision of disaster response and relief efforts in Cuba. The U.S. embassy in Havana said that they have been in close contact with the Cuban authorities on the matter.

Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel usually used his Twitter to thank all the international assistance he received to contain the fire. “We express deep gratitude to the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina, and Chile, which have promptly offered material aid in solidarity in the face of this complex situation,” Díaz-Canel said. “We also appreciate the offer of technical advice from the U.S.”