Two injured and eight houses “considerably damaged” left a fire this morning after the explosion of the battery of an electric motorcycle in the El Canal area, in the capital’s Cerro municipality.
A woman had serious injuries and was receiving care at the “General Calixto García” Clinical Surgical University Hospital, according to report from the newspaper Havana Tribune. The local authorities explained that the houses were “adjoining one another by walls.”
The other injured person has already been discharged, according to Nelson Santana Jiménez, mayor of the Havana municipality. None of the six children subjected to this accident suffered bodily harm, explains that report.
Some of the people affected were welcomed by neighbors, waiting for the solutions that the authorities can offer to these cases, afflicted by serious housing problems.
In recent years, the presence of electric motorcycles with lithium batteries has grown, a helpful “solution” to the permanent transportation crisis on the Island.
Overloaded battery of an electric motorcycle burns Casa de Cultura in western Cuban community
Although their prices remain almost unaffordable for most, these vehicles have become a popular alternative. At the same time they have been the cause of a large number of accidents and fires, which have caused several victims, including children.
Firefighters advise letting the lithium battery cool down to room temperature, keeping the electrical safety devices that are originally installed on the motorcycle, and avoiding making modifications to the motorcycle without taking into account the manufacturer’s instructions. Artisanal lithium batteries should not be used.
