17 missing, 121 injured in Cuban oil depot fire

Four explosions and flames left 121 people injured and 17 firefighters missing after a lightning-induced fire raged at an oil storage facility in the Cuban city of Matanzas.

On Saturday, firefighters and other experts were still working to put out a blaze at the Matanzas supertanker base, which started at the base during a thunderstorm Friday night, the Energy and Mines Ministry tweeted. Authorities said about 800 people were evacuated from the Dubrocq community closest to the fire.

The government said it had sought help from international experts with oil industry experience in “friendly countries”.

Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cosio said the U.S. government had provided technical assistance to put out the fires. On his Twitter account, he said “the proposal is in the hands of experts for proper coordination”.

Minutes later, President Miguel Diaz-Canel thanked Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile for their help. The first support flights from Mexico and Venezuela are expected to arrive at Matanzas airport Saturday night.

The official Cuban news agency said lightning struck one tank, starting a fire that later spread to a second tank. Thick plumes of black smoke billowed from the facility, spreading more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) west, toward Havana, as military helicopters flew overhead to douse the fire.

Roberto de la Torre, head of fire operations in Matanzas, said firefighters were spraying the intact tanks with water to try to keep them cool to prevent the fire from spreading.

Cuba’s health minister reported late Saturday that 121 people were injured, five of them in critical condition. There is no death.

The Presidential Palace of the Republic said the 17 missing were “firefighters trying to stop the spread in the nearest area”.

The accident comes as Cuba struggles with fuel shortages. There is no word yet on how much oil has burned or is in danger at the storage facility, which has eight huge tanks used to store oil used to fuel power plants.

Ambulances, police and fire trucks were present on the streets of Matanzas, a city of about 140,000 residents on Matanzas Bay.