Oil Minister Tarek El Aissami reported that operations will resume in a few hours at the Guaraguao pier, located at the headquarters of Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) Oriente Refining, Puerto La Cruz, Anzoátegui state, after the fire caused by a fuel spill in the facilities.
In this regard, El Aissami confirmed that after 10 a.m. this Saturday the fire had been “totally suffocated”. He also explained that this occurred because “a gasoline loading arm broke, spilling fuel on the deck of the ship and on the dock, which caused a fire in that area.”
For his part, the Vice Minister for Risk Management and Civil Protection, M/G Carlos Pérez Ampueda, confirmed that the fire that started on the “Larko” ship was 100% controlled.
Pérez Ampueda explained that the work to extinguish the flames on the boat and on pier number one was carried out with the support of the PDVSA and Petromonagas special fire brigade, as well as the state fire brigade, without any reports. injured people.
alarm in the population
The situation generated alarm in the cities of Guanta and Puerto la Cruz, mainly, from where the flames and the column of smoke were observed.
The patients of the César Rodríguez Social Security Hospital, located in the same area of Buenos Aires, were preventively evicted, but a few hours later they were admitted to the health center.
Many inhabitants of Chuparín, a sector adjacent to the Refinery, with the first warnings of the fire, left the area for fear of a larger explosion. They assure that they live with Christ in their mouths and remembered the fire at the oil facilities in 2016.
With information from the correspondents: Vivian Ariza and Janna Corredor.
