At least one person has died in a fire at an oil storage depot in the port of the Cuban city of Matanzas. 121 people were injured and 17 others are missing.
At a press conference, local authorities announced that a body had been found at the site. About 19,000 people were evacuated from the area, a suburb of Matanzas.
Five injured people were taken to hospital in critical condition, while about thirty others were seriously injured, according to a preliminary budget. Cuban Energy Minister Levan Arront was also injured.
The seventeen missing are firefighters who went to the fire when an explosion occurred.
The fire that broke out in eastern Havana, according to the authorities, broke out in a crude oil storage tank Friday evening after a lightning strike. There were already four big explosions. Cuban media reported that there were a total of eight large tanks. As far as we know, one is on fire.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the fire had not yet been brought under control. Cuba requested international aid. Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile have already pledged material aid, and the United States has offered to help.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez went to the port of Matanzas to inform him. Firefighters from other parts of the country, including Havana, 80 kilometers away, arrived for rescue. According to the president, it may take a long time before the fire is under control.
The director of the state oil company says it is the largest fire ever in Cuba. Firefighters from other parts of the country, including Havana, 80 kilometers away, arrived for rescue.
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