Friday evening, August 5, tank 52 of the Supertanker Depot in the Matanzas Industrial Zone was hit by lightning, leading to a fire of serious proportions. Since that time, efforts to control spreading of the fire and extinguish the flames have not ceased.
On Sunday afternoon, the fire in the first tank had been extinguished, from which only white smoke was emanating, reported the province’s Party first secretary, Susely Morfa González, but following an explosion around midnight, the fire spread to adjacent areas.
Thus far, the accident has claimed the life of one person and 16 remain missing. Close to 5,000 inhabitants near the industrial zone of the port city have been evacuated and strict vigilance is being maintained to determine if evacuation of other areas is needed.
Susely Morfa, along with Matanzas Governor Mario Sabines, met with CubaPetróleo specialists working at the Supertanker Depot, who projected reaching the capacity to pump 1,000 cubic meters per second of water to the area today, to support firefighting efforts.
As of Sunday night, foam had yet to be sprayed on tank 51, since water was still being collected for this operation which requires a steady supply for 65 continuous minutes.
The Ministry of Public Health reported that, as of 10:00 am local time, today August 8, 125 persons have been treated for injuries, of which 24 remain hospitalized in six institutions, five in critical condition.
