Lightning sets off fire at Cuban oil tank farm, dozens hurt

The official Cuban News Company mentioned the lightning strike established just one tank on fire and the blaze later distribute to a next tank.

The incident will come as Cuba struggles with fuel shortages. There was no speedy word on how considerably oil experienced burned or was in danger at the tank farm, which outlets oil made use of to gasoline electrical energy generation.

Faustino Pérez Hospital noted it was managing 49 men and women, two of them with critical accidents, the official cubadebate portal mentioned.

“I was in the gymnasium when I felt the very first explosion. A column of smoke and awful hearth rose through the skies,” resident Adiel Gonzalez explained to The Involved Push by mobile phone. “The town has a potent smell of sulfur.”

Authorities said the Dubrocq neighborhood closest to the fireplace was evacuated, when Gonzalez included that some individuals resolved to leave the Versailles district, which is a minor farther from the tank farm.

There were quite a few ambulances, law enforcement and fire engines, he explained.

Matanzas, which has about 140,000 inhabitants, is 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Havana, on Matnzas Bay.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel traveled to the space of the fireplace early Saturday, officers explained.

Andrea Rodríguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP