Flames around dawn engulfed a third tank that firefighters tried to cool down as they battled a massive blaze in the western province of Matanzas that started days after the government announced planned blackouts in the capital, Havana. “I’m very worried about the children, the elderly, the economy of Matanzas and the country,” said Dalene de la Caridad, a 28-year-old resident. “We don’t know how this is going to end.” At least one person has been killed and 125 injured, with 14 others missing since lighting struck one of the facility’s eight tanks on Friday night. A second tank caught fire on Saturday, causing several explosions at the facility, which plays a key role in Cuba’s electricity system. “The danger we had announced happened and the flame of the second tank endangered the third,” said Matanzas governor Mario Sabines. By late Monday, four tanks had been breached, Lt. Col. Alexander Ávalos of Cuba’s fire department told Televisión Cubana. “The fire has gotten bigger,” he said. Firefighters had sprayed water on the remaining tanks over the weekend to cool them, but were unable to stop the fire from spreading. On Monday afternoon, the government’s electricity company announced that the fire forced the shutdown of a thermoelectric plant supplying electricity to the western region of the island after running out of water, according to the official website Cubadebate. No further details were immediately available. The governments of Mexico and Venezuela sent special teams to help put out the blaze, with water cannons, planes and helicopters battling the blaze from various directions, as military construction experts set up barricades to contain the oil spill. Local officials have warned residents to use face masks or stay indoors, given the smoke enveloping the region that can be seen from the capital, Havana, which is more than 65 miles (100 kilometers) away. Officials have warned that the cloud contains sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and other poisonous substances. The majority of the injured were treated for burns and smoke inhalation, while five of them remain in critical condition. A total of 24 are hospitalized. Over the weekend, authorities found the body of a firefighter as relatives of the missing gathered at a hotel to await news of their loved ones. The Sabines and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said it was impossible to search for the missing firefighters because of the high temperatures. The fire at the Matanzas supertanker base in the city of Matanzas prompted officials to evacuate more than 4,900 people, most of them from the nearby Dubrocq neighborhood. The facility’s eight huge tanks contain oil used to generate electricity, although it was unclear how much fuel has been lost as a result of the flames. The first tank to catch fire was at 50% capacity and contained nearly 883,000 cubic feet (25,000 cubic meters) of fuel. The second tank was full. Jorge Piñon, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Energy Program at the University of Texas, said officials should inspect the walls of the non-burning tanks to ensure they were not affected. He also warned that the government should be careful before bringing the system back online once the fire is out. “If not, there will be another disaster,” he said. “Unfortunately, this will take time.” Piñon noted that the facility receives Cuban crude oil — operated by an oil pipeline that runs through the center of the country — to be transported via small tankers to the thermoelectric plants that generate electricity. It is also the unloading and transshipment center for imported crude oil, fuel oil and diesel, with Cuba producing only half of the fuel needed to sustain its economy. The blaze comes as Cuba struggles through a deep economic crisis and faces frequent power outages in the midst of a hot summer, issues that helped spark unprecedented anti-government protests last year. Officials have not provided a preliminary damage estimate.
Associated Press videographer Osvaldo Angulo in Matanzas, Cuba contributed.
Andrea Rodríguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP
