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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Ed Augustin in Matanzas

Cuba’s enormous blaze fuels fears of instability even as flames are doused

firefighters with hoses
Firefighters battle the blaze in Matanzas, Cuba, on Tuesday. Photograph: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images

A lightning strike, a chain of fireball explosions so huge they could be seen 65 miles away in Havana, and a lingering stench of sulphur.

The five-day blaze at Cuba’s main oil storage facility in Matanzas was sparked by lightning on Friday night. Over the following days, the flames spread “like an Olympic torch” to three more tanks containing hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of fuel, according to the region’s governor, Mario Sabines.

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