(ANSA) – MATANZAS, AUGUST 09 – The huge fire that broke out last Friday in a fuel depot in Cuba, near Matanzas, is not yet under control. The toll at the moment remains of one confirmed dead, a 60-year-old firefighter, while another 16 remain missing.
24 people hospitalized, five of them in critical conditions, but there are, according to the authorities, at least another hundred burned. About 5,000 people were evacuated from the disaster area. Yesterday several helicopters intervened in the area but were unable to overcome the flames, while the fire knocked down three fuel tanks.
The fire on the outskirts of Matanzas, a city of 140,000 people 100 kilometers east of Havana, broke out on Friday after lightning struck one of the depot’s eight plants.
Provincial governor Mario Sabines told state TV that the area of the fire is “very large” and that the containment effort is “very complex”. A fourth tank would also be in danger. Deputy Fire Chief Alexander Avalos Jorge said “a chain reaction has been set in motion.”
Planes, firefighters and other specialists and equipment arrived in Cuba from Mexico and Venezuela. (HANDLE).
Source: Ansa
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