Pilot who died in the helicopter accident fought the fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base

Major Dairon González Espinosa carried out more than 135 flight missions over the Matanzas Base. He had three children: two boys aged 13 and six and a girl aged three.

3 | 11/04/2024 - 5:45pm (GMT-5)

Cargando — Major Dairon González Espinosa Photo © Cubadebate / Irene Pérez

Mayor Dairon González Espinosa © Cubadebate / Irene Pérez — Major Dairon González Espinosa Photo © Cubadebate / Irene Pérez

One of the soldiers who died this Thursday in theaviation accident that occurred at the Santiago de Cuba airport, participated in 2022 in the efforts to extinguish the fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base.

It is the largestDairon González Espinosa, one of thethree crew membersmilitary helicopter which crashed this morning at the Antonio Maceo Grajales international airport.

A report from the official portalCubadebate August 2022 showed the work of González Espinosa, who as co-pilot of an Air Force MI-17 helicopter carried out more than 135 flight missions over the fuel tanks, along with his two colleagues from Military Unit 3710 of the Eastern Army, in Holguín.

Holguín crew that flew over the fire at the Supertanker Base. Photo: Cubadebate / Irene Pérez

"When we completed that first mission we realized that the magnitude that we imagined was small compared to the flames. There were columns of smoke that reached 3,000 meters high. And a wingspan of around a kilometer. And the flames were very high. A very great experience. Seeing all the fire trucks that were buried there, debris on the flames, that is something hard, unforgettable," said the officer, who was 35 years old at the time.

González Espinosa was the father of three children: two boys aged 13 and six and a younger girl aged three.

Dairon González Espinosa with his wife and daughter. Photo: Cubadebate / Irene Pérez

OfThe first images of the incident came to light, in which two other soldiers also lost their lives: First Lieutenant Carlos Enrique Frómeta Rodríguez and Second Lieutenant Yunier Céspedes Escalona, according to the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR).

The accident occurred at 5:00 am. The MI-17 helicopter number H-115 fell from about ten meters high in the protocol area of the Antonio Maceo Airport in Santiago de Cuba.

According to the official note, the aircraft "was carrying out a mission in the interest of the Revolutionary Armed Forces" when it crashed to the ground.

Presumably, the device was supporting the visit of Army General Raúl Castro, who was in Santiago de Cuba on Wednesday with Miguel Díaz-Canel and other leaders, to participate in the burial ceremony of the remains of combatants of the Third Eastern Front.

President Díaz-Canel sent condolences to the families of the victims in a short message on Twitter.