Firefighters and other experts are still trying to put out the fire at the Matanzas supertanker base, where the fire started during a storm on Friday night, the Energy and Mines Ministry said on Twitter. The government later said it had sought help from international experts in “friendly countries” with experience in the oil sector. The official Cuban news agency reported that lightning struck one tank, causing a fire, and the fire later spread to a second tank. As military helicopters flew overhead dropping water on the fire, a thick plume of black smoke billowed from the facility and spread west over 100 kilometers (62 miles) toward Havana. Oil storage tanks burn at Matanzas supertanker base. Photo: Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters Roberto de la Torre, head of fire operations in Matanzas, said firefighters were spraying water into intact tanks to try to keep them cool in hopes of preventing the fire from spreading. The Matanzas provincial government’s Facebook page said the number of injured reached 77, while 17 people were missing. The republic’s presidency said the 17 were “firefighters who were in the nearest area trying to prevent the spread”. Seven of the injured were taken to Calixto García Hospital in Havana, which has an apparent burns unit. The accident comes as Cuba faces fuel shortages. There was no immediate word on how much oil had burned or was at risk at the storage facility, which has eight giant tanks containing oil used to fuel power plants. “I was in the gym when I felt the first explosion. A column of smoke and terrible fire rose into the heavens,” resident Adiel Gonzalez told The Associated Press. “The city has a strong sulfur smell.” Authorities said about 800 people were evacuated from the Dubrocq neighborhood closest to the fire, while Gonzalez added that some decided to leave the Versailles area, which is a little further from the tank farm. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Many ambulances, police and fire trucks were seen on the streets of Matanzas, a city of about 140,000 on Matanzas Bay. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel traveled to the area of the fire early Saturday, officials said. Local meteorologist Elier Pila showed satellite images of the area with a thick plume of black smoke moving west from the fire site and reaching east as far as Havana. “This plume may be close to 150 kilometers long,” Pila wrote on his Twitter account.
