MIAMI, United States. — After assuring this Wednesday that it was impossible to identify the firefighters who died after the explosion at the Matanzas Super Tanker Base and requesting international collaboration in this regard, the Cuban regime today revealed the identities of the 14 firefighters who disappeared in the incident.
The island authorities counted a total of 16 fatalities, of which only two could be identified: Carlos Santana Garrido, who was a member of the Camilo Cienfuegos Refinery Special Fire Protection Command, and the young firefighter Elier Correa, from 24 years.
This Thursday, the state press made public the identity of the 14 people whose bodies it has not been possible to identify:
- Adriano Rodríguez Gutiérrez (soldier, Matanzas)
- Andy Mitchel Ramos Sotolongo (First Lieutenant, Havana)
- Areskys Quintero Orta (captain, Mayabeque)
- Diosdel Nazco Vargas (first non-commissioned officer, Matanzas)
- Fabián Naranjo Núñez (soldier, Matanzas)
- Leo Alejandro Doval Pérez de Prado (soldier, Matanzas)
- Luis Angel Alvarez Leyva (Matanzas)
- Luis Raul Aguilar Zamora (Havana)
- Michel Rodríguez Roman (soldier, Mayabeque)
- Osley Marante Guerra (Havana)
- Osmani Blasco Sosa (Mayabeque)
- Pablo Angel Lopez Martell (Matanzas)
- Raciel Alonso Martinez Naranjo (Havana)
- Rolando Oviedo Sosa (Mayabeque)
At a press conference offered yesterday afternoon, Dr. Jorge González Pérez, in charge of the multidisciplinary group in charge of the search and identification of the victims, reported that it was not possible to absolutely identify their remains.
The expert, who also chairs the Cuban Society of Legal Medicine, indicated that, as a result of the expert work around tank 51 (known as tank two), 754 small bone fragments were recovered, divided into 14 groups, which were transferred to the laboratory for characterization.
González Pérez maintained that the high temperatures and the time of exposure to them made it impossible to carry out the comparison of fingerprints, analysis of the teeth, or DNA analysis, which prevented a complete identification of the deceased.
Cuban ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel decreed official duel for this Thursday “as a tribute to those who fell in the line of duty during the fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base.” The national mourning will last from 6:00 a.m. on August 18 until 12:00 p.m. on the night of the 19th.
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