No Casualties in Major Fire at Havana’s Oncology Center

The fire that took place Tuesday afternoon at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology (INOR) did not cause fatalities or major damage

The fire that occurred Tuesday afternoon at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology (INOR) did not cause fatalities or major damage, said Dr. Roberto Morales Ojeda, minister of
Public Health.

Salvador Valdés Mesa, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and first vice-president of the Councils of State and Ministers, went to the site of the incident to learn about the damage.

In statements to local media, Minister Morales said that thanks to the rapid action of the capital’s Fire Department and other law enforcement agencies, there was no loss of life and the material impact was not severe.

He said that 108 patients have been relocated in other areas of the same INOR and in other facilities such as the Comandante Manuel Fajardo Hospital and the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery.

According to the minister, the fire is presumed to have originated in a waste treatment plant. He said that he will work on the recovery, so that the institution will be in an even better state than it was at the time of the events.

ACN reporters deployed at the scene witnessed the gratitude of patients, family members and neighbors to the authorities in charge of extinguishing the flames and organizing the evacuation for their prompt and careful response.

Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar, first secretary of the PCC in the capital, was also present at the site.