Argentina to send humanitarian aid to Cuba after oil fire

BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Argentinean Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday that three batches of humanitarian aid will be sent to Cuba to alleviate the severe consequences of an oil fire in the Cuban city of Matanzas.

The ministry said in a statement that on Monday, the first load of aid, "composed of more than 2.7 tons of health supplies," will leave from Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, and on Thursday and Friday, two other shipments will be sent "in response to the request for humanitarian aid made by Cuba in the face of the health consequences of the terrible fire."

The donations include gloves, hooded coveralls, medical kits, and thousands of disposable plastic aprons.

The disaster in Matanzas occurred on Aug. 5, when lightning set fire to a tank carrying 26,000 cubic meters of oil, with the flames later reaching three other nearby tanks.

The event occurred just three months after a tanker truck loaded with liquefied gas exploded near the Hotel Saratoga in Havana, leaving 46 dead and more than 50 injured, and almost totally destroying the building.