In Cuba, emergency workers were able to contain the largest fire in the history of the island. It broke out in the port where the countryʼs oil reserves are stored.
Reuters writes about it.
The fire destroyed 40 percent of the Caribbean islandʼs main fuel storage facility over five days and caused massive blackouts. Witnesses told the publication that the flames themselves had already died out, and the thick black smoke had significantly reduced and turned into gray.
On Tuesday, helicopters and fireboats, sent by Mexico, were involved in extinguishing the fire. Firefighters managed to fill the oil storage tanks with foam and contain the fire.
It is currently unknown how much fuel was burned, but the authorities assured that there are no oil leaks in Matanzas Bay, and also urged residents of the capital, Havana, to wear face masks.
One rescuer died during the fire. Five people are in serious condition in hospital, and 14 are still missing.
- On August 7, in western Cuba, lightning struck an oil storage facility in the port of Matanzas. This caused such a large-scale fire that the authorities requested help from neighboring countries, in particular, Mexico and Venezuela. The fire spread from one oil storage to another.