A series of explosions complicates the extinction of the fire in the fuel tanks in Cuba

A series of strong explosions has complicated this Monday the work of extinguishing the great fire unleashed on Friday in some fuel depots in Matanzas, in western Cuba, in what the authorities already consider the largest industrial loss in the history of the country.

The explosions, with columns of fire of several tens of meters, formed a curtain of thick black smoke that has made it impossible for experts to analyze the situation on the ground.

The fire, now out of control, could continue to be active for days, according to specialists, while the extent of the damage to the third and fourth fuel tanks, of the eight that make up the 50,000 cubic meter supertanker base, is still unknown. each.

“The high temperatures have made work very difficult and it has been committing itself in a chain reaction and it has been practically impossible to achieve extinction,” Alexander Ávalos Jorge, second head of the National Department of Corps Extinction, admitted at a press conference on Monday. of Cuban Firefighters.

According to Ávalos, the other four tanks at the base are also "compromised" by the high temperatures of the fire and the wind in the area.

"We can still be days to extinguish the fire," he added.

On the other hand, as a result of the recent explosions and the profusion of smoke at ground level, the use of a powerful hydraulic pump installed by the cooperation teams from Venezuela and Mexico, a key step to control the fire, has been frustrated.

So far one death has been reported, the injured amount to 125 and the number of hospitalized is 24. The provisional number of missing persons has been revised downwards and now stands at 14. The missing persons are mainly firefighters who were surprised by one of the first big explosions.

The recovery of the bodies will not begin until the flames are extinguished, explained the Cuban government.

The number of evacuees remains above 4,000.

Early Monday, Cuban authorities confirmed the collapse of a third warehouse.

Later they qualified that version and clarified that, in reality, it was the fall of the dome of the structure.

The first information indicated that the contents of the second tank had spilled when the walls of the infrastructure cracked and only at the end of the afternoon was it confirmed that they had reached the fourth tank.

Among the hubbub of the day was the fear among the residents of Matanzas, who have been asked to use the mask indoors due to the smoke, which has been increasing over the hours, far from dissipating.

As a collateral consequence of the fire, the country can only meet 60% of the electricity demand during the peak hours of this Monday.

The state company Unión Eléctrica de Cuba (UNE) indicated that this situation is due to the fact that, in addition to the difficulties that the national energy system has been going through for months, the forced disconnection of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant -one of the largest in the country- is added. for the accident.

These facilities, 2.7 kilometers from the park of fuel tanks that have been burning since Friday in Matanzas, closed due to lack of water for cooling.

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