Cuban authorities were still struggling Monday to contain a raging fire at an oil storage facility at the port of Matanzas, after new explosions spread the flames to other oil tanks, raising questions about the country’s disaster preparedness and its ongoing energy crisis.
According to the government’s version of events, the fire started around 7 p.m. Friday when lightning struck a crude-oil storage tank in the unloading area in the port known as the Matanzas Supertanker Base. The fire extended to a second tank on Saturday and the third one on Monday.
Local authorities and state media outlets have published contradictory information, but the governor of Matanzas, Mario Sabines Lorenzo, confirmed Monday morning that a third tank was burning.
