Vietnam extends sympathy to Cuba over oil tank blasts
VOV.VN - Senior Vietnamese leaders have cabled messages of sympathy to their Cuban counterparts over severe losses caused by a massive blaze in an oil storage facility in Cuba Matanzas province.
The messages were correspondingly sent by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, PM Manuel Marrero Cruz and President of the National Assembly of People's Power Esteban Lazo Hernandez.
The same day, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son also sent a similar message to his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla.
Reuters reported that lightning struck one of eight storage tanks near Cuba's supertanker port in Matanzas 60 miles east of Havana on August 5 evening. Heat from the blaze reached a second tank the following day and the wind blew flames dangerously close to a third.
Local authorities confirmed that one person was dead, and 17 firefighters were unaccounted for. At least 121 people were injured in the second blast, including Energy Minister Livan Arronte. Nearly 2,000 residents were evacuated from the area.