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A lightning strike has caused a fire at an oil storage facility in Cuba, and the flames are out of control.<\/p>\n
Four explosions have been reported at the site in the city of Matanzas and nearly 80 people have been injured.<\/p>\n
Seventeen firefighters who were in a nearby area and were trying to stop the spread of the fire have gone missing.<\/p>\n
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The Cuban government has asked for help from international experts from “friendly countries” with experience in the oil sector.<\/p>\n
As helicopters flew overhead to drop water, a thick plume of black smoke billowed from the site and spread west toward the capital, Havana.<\/p>\n
The storage facility is equipped with eight giant tanks that hold oil that is used to power the electricity generating plants.<\/p>\n
Lightning initially struck one tank, but the fire later spread to a second, and the crash comes as Cuba continues to struggle with fuel shortages.<\/p>\n
Adiel Gonz\u00e1lez, who is nearby, said: “I was in the gym when I heard the first explosion. A column of smoke and a terrible fire rose through the sky.”<\/p>\n
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The neighborhood of Dubrocq, which is the closest to the fire, has now been evacuated, and some choose to leave the neighborhoods a little further away.<\/p>\n
Mantanzas is home to a population of around 140,000 people, and on Saturday President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel traveled to the area.<\/p>\n