Cuba calls for help to deal with oil depot fire

Cuba asked for help “from friendly countries” to deal with the gigantic fire at an oil depot in the suburbs of Matanzas, a city of 140,000 inhabitants 100 kilometers east of Havana. The fire broke out on Friday evening when lightning struck one of the tanks at the oil depot. In the early morning, the fire then spread to a second tank.

At least one person was killed, 17 are missing and 121 injured – 5 are in critical condition, 3 in very serious condition and 28 seriously injured, according to a latest report communicated on the presidency’s Twitter account.

Among the injured is the Minister of Energy, Livan Arronte. The missing are firefighters “who were in the area closest to the fire” when an explosion took place. Some 1,900 people were evacuated from the disaster area.

Cuban meteorologist Elier Pila released satellite images of the area, showing a dense plume of black smoke moving west from the point of the fire and reaching eastern Havana. “This plume can reach nearly 150 kilometers in length”wrote Mr. Pila on his Twitter account.

U.S. Technical Support Offer

Faced with the difficult control of the fire which “could take some time”according to the Cuban President, Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba “has sought help and advice from friendly countries with experience in the oil sector”. The answers were not long in coming and the Cuban president expressed on Twitter his “deep gratitude to the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile, who quickly offered material assistance in solidarity with this complex situation”. “We are also grateful for the offer of technical assistance from the United States”, he added. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said the US proposal “is already in the hands of specialists for adequate coordination”.

A group of Mexican soldiers disembark at Juan Gualberto Gomez airport, in the province of Matanzas, on Saturday August 6, 2022.

The United States Embassy in Havana had earlier claimed to be ” in touch “ with Cuban officials, stating that, despite the ongoing sanctions regime against the ruling single party, “U.S. law authorizes U.S. entities and organizations to provide disaster relief and response in Cuba”.

According to Asbel Leal, director of trade and supply of the Cuban Petroleum Union, Cupet, the first reservoir “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. Cuba has never been confronted with a fire of “the magnitude of today’s”he said.

According to the official daily grandma, “there was a failure of the lightning rod system which could not withstand the power of the electric discharge”. The deposit supplies the Antonio Guiteras power plant, the largest in Cuba, but pumping to the plant has not stopped, said grandma.

This fire comes as the country faces the obsolescence of the eight thermoelectric power stations on the island to meet the increased demand for electricity due to the summer heat.

The authorities must carry out rotating cuts, sometimes up to twelve hours a day in certain regions of the country, triggering the anger of exasperated residents who have organized around twenty demonstrations.

The World with AFP


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