EU activates Civil Protection Mechanism to assist Cuba in response to fire in Matanzas

The European Union has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism to send assistance to Cuba for the fire registered in Matanzas started on Thursday by a lightning strike on fuel tanks, said Wednesday the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic.

In a message on social networks, the Slovenian commissioner has pointed out that the mechanism will allow the shipment of medical material provided by Spain, which is expected to arrive this Friday. “I express my solidarity with the victims. The EU is ready to help coordinate the response,” Lenarcic said.

EU sources confirm to Europa Press that Havana’s request for help has been answered by the Spanish authorities who have offered 190,624 units of medicines and 107,296 units of medical material.

For the moment, Cuban authorities maintain the provisional death toll at one, while another 16 people remain missing and five of the 24 hospitalized patients are in critical condition, according to the count updated by the Ministry of Public Health.

A third tank collapsed this Monday after the second one collapsed and spilled fuel on the third one throughout the early hours of the morning.

The European mechanism seeks to strengthen cooperation between EU countries on civil protection to improve disaster prevention, preparedness and response.

When an emergency exceeds the response capabilities of a member state or third country, it can request assistance through the Mechanism. The European Commission plays a key role in coordinating the response and contributes at least 75% of the operational or transport costs of humanitarian deployments.