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A raging fire consumes a fourth tank at a Cuban oil storage facility : NPR


Smoke rises from a deadly fire at a large oil storage facility in Matanzas, Cuba, on Tuesday. The fire was triggered by light hitting one of the facility’s eight tanks late Friday.

Ismael Francisco / AP


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Ismael Francisco / AP


Smoke rises from a deadly fire at a large oil storage facility in Matanzas, Cuba, on Tuesday. The fire was triggered by light hitting one of the facility’s eight tanks late Friday.

Ismael Francisco / AP

HAVANA – Flames engulfed a fourth tank at an oil storage facility in western Cuba on Tuesday when raging fire consume vital supplies of fuel on an island grappling with a growing energy crisis.

Firefighters and experts from Mexico and Venezuela helped fight fires in Matanzas province with boats, planes and helicopters as they sprayed foam over containers, a first for the crew because The baking temperature had prevented them from doing so before.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the crews had brought the burning area under control and were taking further steps to extinguish it.

“They are no easy task,” he said. “It was an intense and complicated incident.”

The fire at Matanzas Supership Base has left at least one person dead and 125 others injured, with 14 other firefighters still missing. It also forced officials to evacuate more than 4,900 people and shut down a key thermal power plant on Monday after it ran out of water, raising fears of further power outages.

Most of the injured were treated for burns and smoke inhalation. More than 20 people are still hospitalized, including five in critical condition.

“This situation makes us very worried at the moment because there are problems with electricity, about the environment, about the people who are still living here,” said Adneris Díaz, a 22-year-old cafe owner.

This eight-tank facility plays an important role in Cuba’s electricity system: it operates an extensive pipeline that receives Cuban crude oil that is then sent to thermal power plants that produce electricity. It is also a hub for loading and unloading imported crude oil, fuel oil and diesel.

The facility caught fire late Friday after lightning struck one of its tanks, causing several explosions as it spread over the weekend. The first tank is at 50% capacity and holds nearly 883,000 cubic feet (25,000 cubic meters) of fuel. The second bin is full.

Officials have yet to release damage estimates.

The fire occurred just days after the government announced a scheduled power cut in the capital Havana in the midst of a sweltering summer.

“The economic effect is very obvious,” said Tahimi Sánchez, a 48-year-old cafe owner. “They are there, we will notice them and we will see them, but we are confident, and we will come out of this well.”



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