Cuba has called for foreign aid to fight a massive fire at a fuel depot.
Firefighters continued to battle the blaze on Saturday, which killed at least one person and injured 121 others. 17 firefighters were reported missing. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the area in the western province of Matanzas. The fire was started by lightning striking a fuel tank.
At least five of the injured were in mortal danger, according to the Cuban Presidential Office. Energy Minister Livan Arronte was also injured.
17 firefighters were missing, according to the President’s Office they had fought on the front line against the flames in the industrial area of ​​the city of Matanzas around 100 kilometers east of Havana. In the fight against the major fire, Cuba asked “friendly states with experience in handling fuel” for help, the presidential office said.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel thanked Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile for “promptly providing assistance.” The USA had also “offered technical advice”.
Lightning struck a fuel tank at the camp on Friday night, triggering an explosion. By Saturday, the flames had spread to another tank, which also blew up.
According to the state newspaper “Granma”, a lightning conductor had apparently failed.
According to the state oil company Cupet, it is the largest fire in Cuba to date. The first tank contained around 26 million liters of crude oil, the second 52 million liters of fuel.
The fuel depot belonged to the largest combined heat and power plant in Cuba. According to the authorities, its operation was not affected by the accident.
