Cuba races against time to stop massive fire from spreading at oil tank

A lightning strike hit a crude oil storage tank in Matanzas, Cuba, causing a massive fire. The fire spread to another tank next door. The incident caused four major explosions, injured 121 people, left 17 firefighters missing and forced the evacuation of 1,300 residents. The Cuban government is racing against time to stop the fire from spreading and has sought help from several countries, including the United States.

A lightning strike hit a crude oil storage tank in Matanzas, Cuba, causing a massive fire.

The fire started when lightning struck one of eight giant oil storage tanks, each holding an estimated 300,000 barrels of oil, at a fuel terminal near the Matanzas floating supertanker port on the evening of August 5 (local time). The heat from the fire caused another explosion and fire at a neighboring tank on the morning of August 6.

Cubans in the surrounding area said: “There was a huge explosion at around 8pm on August 5 and a second explosion at 5am on August 6. The explosions were so big that it lit up the whole area.”

“I saw the helicopters coming to put out the fire but they couldn't put it out yet."

The Cuban government has mobilized all its resources to prevent the fire from spreading, as winds are pushing the fire to a third tank. Firefighters from the Mayabeque province and the capital Havana, which is adjacent to Matanzas, along with Interior Ministry personnel, the Revolutionary Armed Forces and workers from the state-run oil company Cupet have been dispatched to the scene to fight the fire. A large number of ambulances have also been deployed and hospitals have been ordered to be ready to receive patients.

All operations at the Matanzas port were suspended to allow for rescue efforts. Military helicopters attempted to dump water into the remaining tanks to cool them and prevent the fire from spreading.

“It is a complicated situation,” said Matanzas Province Governor Mario Sabines. “We are doing our best with international help in a race against time, but we don’t know when the fire will stop.”

As of this morning (Vietnam time), 121 people were injured by the fire, of which 5 were in critical condition; 1 person was confirmed dead; 17 firefighters were missing and about 1,300 residents of Matanzas province had to be evacuated.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez rushed to the scene overnight. He also thanked the governments of Russia, Mexico, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile for providing material assistance to Cuba in dealing with the fire. He also thanked the United States for technical consultations.

According to Reuters news agency, forces from Mexico and Venezuela are currently present at the scene to coordinate with Cuban authorities to put out the fire.

According to analysts, if the fire is not controlled soon, all eight oil tanks at the port will be in danger and could cause an environmental disaster. Warnings have been issued to the public about acid rain or oil spills that are harmful to the marine environment.

The incident also occurred in the context of Cuba facing an increasing energy crisis, leading to prolonged power outages in recent days, seriously affecting production and life. Up to this point, the Cuban Electricity Union (UNE) announced that the island's largest thermal power plant, Antonio Guiteras, located near the burning oil depot, still has enough fuel to ensure operations for 2 days and has deployed necessary security measures./.