Ernesto Gálvez, the Production director of the cement factory in Cienfuegos where an accident left one dead and five injured this Tuesday, specified that the incident occurred after the collapse of a hopper that caused a spill of very hot material, which led to serious burns for the injured.
"At 2:05 p.m., the flour hopper of the electrofilter of oven three collapsed. This collapse caused a spill of hot flour, which was what led to the unwanted accident," Gálvez explained in statements to the Perlavisión telecenter.
"We are still investigating the cause of the events, of the hopper collapse," added the executive, who took the opportunity to clarify that there was no explosion of a boiler.
"We do not use boilers. We use solid fuel. We do not generate steam nor do we have boilers in the plant," he added; and he detailed that the principle of operation of the electrofilter is "the dust removal of the powders that go into the atmosphere."
Although Ernesto Gálvez specified that the causes are being investigated, he briefly referred to an alleged "overload of the hopper that collapsed."
"Everything is currently calm, normal at the plant, and under investigation regarding the events that occurred," emphasized the executive, whose statements were made this Tuesday, the same day as the accident.
Ernesto Gálvez stated that in order to ensure safety and considering the high temperature of the spilled material, the debris removal was not scheduled until the morning of this Wednesday.
Gálvez noted that they hope to restore the plant's normalcy with the help of specialized technical forces from the province and the country, but he did not mention when the plant could be operational again.
Three of the five injured in the incident remain reported as serious, according to an updated report from the aforementioned Cienfuegos telecenter.
They are:
Dionel Figueroa Calunga, 52 years old, 70% burns, reported in extremely critical condition. Resident of La Loma. Nuclear Power Plant.
Francisco Díaz Urquiza, 60 years old, 24% burned, reported as very serious. Pastorita. Cienfuegos.
Hermes Rojas Campos, 52 years old, 24% burns, reported as serious. Pastorita. Cienfuegos.
"The reports continue to show all hemodynamically stable, absence of hypovolemic shock, preserved diuresis, and afebrile. They are in the process of healing," updated Armando Carranza Valladares, first secretary of the PCC in Cienfuegos, on Facebook this Wednesday morning.
In addition to the three more seriously injured, Carlos Aguilar Sabina, 33 years old, is also admitted with 12% burns on his body.
In addition to the five injured, the serious incident resulted in one fatality, identified as Raimundo Narciso Sarría Lavín, 61 years old, who was an employee of the Construction Engineering Company No. 6 (Ecoing-6), where he worked as an electrician.
Work accidents in Cuba
Deaths due to workplace accidents in Cuba increased in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, despite the total number of incidents decreasing by 3.8% during that same period.
Although the variation in absolute numbers was only two people - 25 fatalities this year compared to 23 in 2023 - the percentage represents an 8.7% increase.
The report titled Labor Protection. Selected Indicators, published this Monday by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), detailed that between January and June of this year, 851 work accidents were recorded, which represents 34 fewer incidents than the 885 that occurred in the same period of 2023.
The sectors most affected by mortality were Transportation, Storage, and Communications with six deceased; Agriculture, Livestock, Hunting, and Forestry with four deaths; and Manufacturing Industries, Electricity, Gas, and Water Supply, and Commerce, each with three deceased.
In May, the ONEI reported that the number of workplace accidents in 2023 had decreased compared to 2022, although the number of fatalities remained unchanged.
Last year ended with a total of 1,491 workplace accidents, which represented a decrease of 10.6% compared to the previous year.
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