President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reported this Saturday that he instructed personnel from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) and the Secretary of the Navy (Semar) to help fight the fire that broke out in a crude oil deposit in the city of Matanzas, Cuba.
In an interview with the media, the president added that the nationals were already on their way to the Caribbean country, where The fire was caused by a lightning strike on a deposit of 55 thousand liters of oil.
A team of technicians and specialists from Pemex and the Secretaries of the Navy and National Defense travel to Cuba in order to help control the fire in a storage tank in Matanzas, as reported by the president @lopezobrador_ pic.twitter.com/8BXzPShUwZ
– Sara Pablo Nava (@sarapablo1) August 6, 2022
The fire reached three other warehouses and there are at least 77 people injured and some 800 people have been evacuated because of the risk posed by gases.
The Minister of Health, José Angel Portal Miranda, reported in a Twitter post that among the injured, one was in critical condition and three other people were “very serious”.
Seven other injured patients were taken to hospitals in Havana.
Likewise, the Cuban authorities reported that they are working already in coordination with the United States to materialize the offer of aid from the US Government before the fire.
The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, expressed Cuba’s gratitude to the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile “who have promptly offered solidary material aid in the face of this complex situation.” In that message he also expresses his gratitude to the United States for its “offer of technical advice.”
(With information from Europe Press and Reuters)
We express deep gratitude to the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile, which have promptly offered solidary material aid in the face of this complex situation. We also appreciate the offer of technical advice from the US. #ForceMatanzas
– Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) August 6, 2022
Reference-aristeguinoticias.com
