The human toll from the fire that broke out on Friday August 5 in the oil depot in Matanzas, Cuba, is increasing. Cuban authorities announced Thursday the death of a second firefighter, hospitalized with serious burns. This 24-year-old firefighter is the second official victim of this gigantic fire, now “under control”after the death of another 60-year-old firefighter announced on Saturday.
Lamented el fallecimiento de dos personas. pic.twitter.com/4vH2FcuMNW
— Presidency Cuba (@PresidencyCuba) August 11, 2022
Fourteen firefighters are still missing. The Cuban Ministry of Public Health also specifies on Twitter Only 23 patients hospitalized because of this fire, including four in critical condition and two in serious condition. In all, the fire injured 130 people.
Fourteen firefighters still missing
“In 48 hours, the conditions should be met to enter the site of the fire and recover the bodies of the missing”said the Cuban fire brigade, via the Presidency’s Twitter account.
“On the radar images, the smoke from the fire is decreasing”, said the Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Elba Rosa Pérez, quoted by the Presidency. According to her, “air quality monitoring confirms that air pollution has decreased” and “there is no confirmation that people were poisoned by the fumes” released.