Lightning Strike on Oil Storage Tank in Cuba Causes Massive Fire

Wire Service
By Wire Service
August 6, 2022Americas
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Lightning Strike on Oil Storage Tank in Cuba Causes Massive Fire
Few oil tankers arrive at a refinery in Havana, Cuba, on March 3, 2003. (Jorge Rey/Getty Images)

Lightning struck a large oil storage tank on Friday evening in Matanzas, Cuba, causing a huge fire.

Cuban state-run media said no deaths had been reported.

The massive fire comes at a time when Cuba faces a deepening energy crisis amid fuel shortages.

“No human losses, injuries, or fuel spillage into the sea were reported after the fire,” Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines posted on Twitter.

An electrical discharge at the base of the oil tank, which stores crude oil, caused the fire, according to Susely Morfa González, the first secretary of the Community Party of Cuba in the Province of Matanzas.

The fire did not impact the Thermoelectric Powerplant Antonio Guiteras, the ministry said, which contributes to the national electricity system.

The CNN Wire contributed to this report. 

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