Cuban oil fire contained after 5 days

HAVANA — A deadly fire that has consumed at least half of a large oil facility in western Cuba and threatened to worsen the island’s energy crisis has been largely controlled after nearly five days, authorities said Wednesday.

Flames that recently consumed the fourth tank in the eight-tank facility in Matanzas were almost quelled, although the third tank remains on fire and surrounded by smoke, according to an unidentified Cuban firefighter.

“We can’t go in for now,” he told Cubavision, a government TV channel.

The blaze killed at least one person and injured 128 others, with 14 firefighters still reported missing and 20 people hospitalized. The fire also forced officials to evacuate more than 4,900 people and shut down a key thermoelectric plant after it ran out of water, raising concerns about a new round of blackouts in addition to the ones the government announced last week for Havana.

Col. Daniel Chavez, second in command at Cuba’s firefighting department, said the fire could keep burning for the next couple of days but doesn’t expect it to grow in size. He said the next step is to cool the area.