Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 7: A lightning-caused fire at an oil storage facility burned out of control on Saturday in the city of Matanzas, injuring 121 people with four explosions and flames and leaving 17 firefighters missing, according to Cuban officials.
The Matanzas Supertanker Base fire, which started during a thunderstorm on Friday night, is currently being battled by firefighters and other experts, according to a tweet from the Ministry of Energy and Mines. According to authorities, roughly 800 residents of the Dubrocq neighbourhood who were closest to the fire were evacuated.
The government claimed to have sought assistance from foreign experts in friendly countries who have knowledge of the oil industry. Late on Saturday, the health minister of Cuba stated that 121 individuals had been hurt, with five of them in severe condition. Deaths weren’t reported. The 17 individuals missing, according to the Republic’s Presidency, were ‘firefighters who were in the nearby region trying to prevent the spread.’
Cuba is experiencing a fuel scarcity at the time of the accident. There was no early information on how much of the oil stored in the storage facility’s eight enormous tanks that are used to store the fuel for electricity generating facilities had burnt or was in danger.