Havana 8 Aug : One person was killed and 122 others injured after a major fire which triggered several series of explosions at the fuel storage facility in Cuba’s port of Matanzas the Ministry of Public Health said it added, adding that 16 persons are still missing. A crude oil tank in the facility was destroyed in massive flames due to lightning strikes at 7 p.m.on the 5th of August according to Xinhua news agency.
The fire grew to another tank the next day and triggered the erupting of a sequence of explosions.
The first tank struck by lightning was the half-capacity mark, with approximately 25,000 cubic meters of crude.
Local authorities claimed that the lightning rod system was not working to stop the fire.
Cuban firefighters were joined by Mexican and Venezuelan experts on Sunday to put out the flame that was expanding.
“Cuba is lacking some tools and resources needed to manage this massive flame,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in reports from the scene that is situated about 100 kilometers to the east of Havana.
As of now, around five thousand residents have been evicted out of the area as per the official figures.
Photos shared on social networks showed a huge column of black smoke that spanned the city of Matanzas and stretching up to 63 miles west of Havana.
The Caribbean nation is suffering from a shortage of electric power because of the fuel shortages.
The power supply may decline following the explosions.
.
