(EFE).- Cuba held a dialogue with experts from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to learn about rehabilitation techniques for the area affected by the Matanzas industrial firereported this Friday the Foreign Ministry.
The Cuban experts asked members of the EPA “for their assessment of the actions already carried out” in the area during a virtual meeting last Wednesday.
Representatives of the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment -among other institutions- presented “the main tasks undertaken since the fire was declared extinguished” on August 12, according to the Foreign Ministry.
In addition, the island’s specialists requested “the possibility of accessing the most innovative techniques and procedures accumulated by both the EPA, as well as by companies linked to the oil sector and other agencies involved in these types of accidents,” the source added.
On August 5, a huge fire broke out at the Matanzas fuel depot base, when lightning struck one of them.
In a statement released this Friday, the Cuban Foreign Ministry highlighted the “professional and fruitful exchange” environment of the meeting where they also discussed “the possible ways of cooperation” in the rehabilitation of the area consumed by the fire.
On August 5, a huge fire broke out at the Matanzas fuel depot base, when lightning struck 1 of the 8 tanks of the industrial park, as explained by the Cuban authorities.
Four of the eight tanks of the storage base – the largest facility of its kind in the Caribbean country to receive and store crude oil – completely burned causing explosions and flames of several tens of meters.
The column of smoke became visible in neighboring provinces such as Mayabeque and Havana, the latter located 104 kilometers away.
During the first stages of the fire, Cuba confirmed and thanked the offer of “technical advice” from the United States, although nothing materialized.
They lost their lives in the accident 16 people -mostly firefighters-, while another 146 were injured and 15 of them remain hospitalized.
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