Firefighters, special brigades of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Red Cross and other groups trained in the containment and extinction of fires from Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela, work non-stop to control a large-scale fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base.

The incident, which began on the night of Friday, August 5, in crude oil storage tank 52, has so far claimed the life of one person.

Two of the eight tanks that the base has have collided

, although the flames threaten to reach a third, so the actions of the Cuban specialized forces, which now receive support from technicians and specialists from Mexico and Venezuela, are focused on keep tanks cool to prevent the spread of fire.

Temperatures around the tanks had dropped as of 1:00 am this Sunday, August 7.

The wind that blows from the yumurina bay has also reduced the violence of the flames.

The inhabitants near the industrial zone, located in the northwest of Cuba, have been evacuated

and strict surveillance is maintained on the conditions that could lead to evacuation in other areas.

The city is not in danger so far, authorities have declared.

Until 7:00 pm on August 6, 121 people were treated, of which 36 are hospitalized in six health institutions in the country and 85 were discharged.

The first deceased from the fire, whose body was recovered at the accident site as part of the search efforts

, remains in the Legal Medicine room of the Comandante Faustino Pérez Surgical Clinical Hospital for identification.

Cuba has received constant expressions of solidarity and support from governments, personalities, various organizations, embassies and foreign friends, as well as from Cubans residing abroad.

Specialists from the Fire Department and the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) are concentrating on implementing an alternative to increase the flow of water to the cistern for firefighters, who continue to fight against the fire.

The system is made up of a pump that will extract seawater and a pipe that will transfer it to the "hot zone," according to First Colonel Ernesto Rodríguez-Gallo Valdés, of the Matanzas Military Region.

Intensive work is also being done to evacuate the fuel stored in the tanks surrounding the fire.

Specialists from the CubaPetróleo Union (CUPET) reported that this diesel will be distributed in service centers in Matanzas and Havana.

In the next few hours, a ship is expected to dock in Matanzas Bay to take on the transfer of much of that fuel.

Cubadebate

will continue

through all its platforms: #FuerzaMatanzas #FuerzaCuba 🇨🇺

Sort: Chronological Last First

Sort: Chronological Last First