Raging fire in Cuban oil depot leaves 80 injured and 17 firefighters missing

800 people evacuated as smoke billows towards Havana after lightning strikes oil tank in Matanzas supertanker base

A fire set off by a lightning strike at an oil storage facility raged uncontrolled on Saturday in the city of Matanzas, where four explosions and flames injured nearly 80 people and left 17 firefighters missing, Cuban authorities said.

Firefighters and other specialists were still trying to quell the blaze at the Matanzas supertanker base, where the fire began during a thunderstorm on Friday night, the ministry of energy and mines tweeted. The government said later that it had asked for help from international experts in friendly countries" with experience in the oil sector.