Put out the large fire in the hydrocarbon tanks of the Supertanker Base of the Industrial Zone of Matanzas, continue the extinction actions protecting the lives of the people who participate in them, and start the search for those who are reported missing, when the control of the event allows it, they are the priorities in the confrontation to the sinister, indicated the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
The Head of State indicated this in the check of the actions to control the accident, caused by a lightning strike in tank No. 52 of the terminal, which contained crude oil, and which later spread to a nearby deposit. , whose explosion, around 5:00 this Saturday morning, caused injuries to technicians, specialists and other personnel involved in cooling the tank.
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba presided over the meeting with ministers and other national and provincial authorities. He was together with the members of the Political Bureau, Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly of People's Power; Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister —who led the exchange—; and Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee.
The deputy prime ministers, Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez and Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, as well as Susely Morfa González, first secretary of the Party in the province, also attended.
Until 3:00 in the afternoon of this Saturday, the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) reported 121 people with different degrees of injuries (115 men and six women); Of those treated, 85 have already been discharged and 36 are still hospitalized, one of them female.
The head of the Minsap, José Ángel Portal Miranda, reported that five people are reported in critical condition; three serious and 28 care. Six people are hospitalized in the Faustino Pérez hospitals in Matanzas, one in critical condition and five in care, and in the Mario Muñoz Monroy, 21, all in care.
In the hospital centers of Havana, two people, one in critical condition and the other in serious condition, are admitted to the Hermanos Ameijeiras; in the Calixto Garcia; three reported from critics; in the Miguel Enríquez, two serious ones; and in Luis Díaz Soto, three other patients.
Among the people received at the medical centers until 3:00 in the afternoon, there was no deceased, although later an unidentified body arrived, which was treated by the Legal Medicine specialists, Portal Miranda explained.
The Minsap reported on the availability of more than 150 beds in hospitals in other neighboring provinces of Matanzas; and the arrival early on Saturday of a brigade of medical and nursing specialists from Havana to support care.
Portal Miranda explained that the Minsap will offer permanent information on the injured, with two daily parts, which will be published on the institution's official website.
The governor of Matanzas, Mario Sabines Lorenzo, reported, among other things, on the evacuation carried out in five neighborhoods surrounding or close to the Supertank Base.
He pointed out that 1,300 people evacuated themselves in the houses of families or friends and 700 are housed in state centers, in the Teacher Training School and in the University of Matanzas.
Ministers, deputy ministers and heads of OSDE directly linked to the work, such as Cupet, Hydraulic Resources and Transportation reported on the actions to control and extinguish the fire in oil tanks at the Supertanker Base.
In an exchange with the head of the National Civil Defense Staff, Major General Ramón Pardo Guerra, the President of the Republic ordered a preliminary assessment of the environmental impact caused by the event, whose column of smoke has spread throughout more than a hundred kilometers to the west and has raised concern among citizens.
The first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party of Matanzas, Susely Morfa González, pointed out that hard and strong work has been done in handling the incident, each one occupying the front and the position that corresponds to him, as this is a highly specialized activity.
Susely thanked the President of the Republic and other leaders of the Revolution for their support in these difficult times. He stressed that the Head of State arrived a few hours after starting the fire and has remained here, a sign of his concern, as he has always done, for the people of Matanzas.
The Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, highlighted the solidarity of all the people of Cuba with the people of Matanzas, including the donation of blood in many places, and the request to help in whatever is necessary.
In turn, he thanked the expressions and actions of international solidarity and the help that several friendly countries, such as Mexico, have offered. He reported that he received a phone call from President Nicolás Maduro, who expressed the permanent willingness of the Bolivarian Revolution to help.
He also referred to messages received from Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, the new government of Colombia and other Latin American and Caribbean countries. He also highlighted the expressions of help from various organizations and people from the United States, including the US government, which offered technical advice, a proposal that is already in the hands of specialists for proper coordination.