In the Cuban city of Matanzas, a fire broke out after lightning struck an oil storage on Saturday. Soon the surrounding areas started resonating with explosions. At the same time, the flames were so strong that people did not even get a chance to recover. According to officials, 121 people were injured and 17 firefighters went missing in the massive fire. The Ministry of Power tweeted that firefighters and other experts are trying to douse the fire.

official Cuban news agency said after a strong thunderstorm, lightning struck one tank, causing the fire to spread to another tank. Then as military helicopters took off, pouring water over the fire, a plume of black smoke spread westward for more than 100 kilometers (62 mi) toward Havana.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines tweeted about this incident, saying that firefighters and other experts are trying to douse

the fire. Where the fire broke out during a thunderstorm on Friday night. Officials said around 800 people were rescued from the flames. Officials said that many people would have lost their lives if it had been delayed.

government said it had sought help from international experts from friendly countries with experience in the oil sector. Deputy Secretary of State Carlos Fernández de Cosio said the US government had offered technical assistance to extinguish the fire. Minutes later, President Miguel Diaz-Canel thanked Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile for their offers of help.