An accident on Avenida Las Américas in Santiago de Cuba raised concerns among residents and passersby this Saturday when a truck transporting gas cylinders overturned, drawing a crowd of onlookers to the area.
According to the testimony of Ariel Lebeque Diasco, an eyewitness who shared a video on Facebook, the incident occurred after the truck apparently struck another vehicle parked at the corner.
"The gas car overturned. Thankfully, it seems the canisters are empty," he said.
"It seems that he hit that car that was here at the corner; it looks like it had a flat tire too, and that's where it rolled over," he reported.
The images show how the truck was overturned to the right, with its wheels on the roadway while the top, along with the load of small pellets, ended up on the sidewalk.
There is also a visible spill of a liquid: oil or petroleum.
Fortunately, according to the witness, the risk was lower since the bullets were blanks.
The vehicle that was reportedly involved in the collision, also a truck, appears in the video parked with no visible damage.
So far, there have been no reports of injuries or local authorities intervening to clear the area or control traffic.
In the comments section of the post, a user criticized that the area of the incident was not cordoned off.
"A small fire in that area with those gas cylinders that don’t have the personnel around to inspect them, like firefighters, a leak or gas escape, and that could have been the massacre of the year, for not arriving on time and urgently clearing the area," he stated.
Lebeque Diasco stated that the police were warning onlookers, but very few paid attention.
The accident highlights the risks involved in transporting pressurized materials through central streets and the rapid gathering of people around the scene, which increases the likelihood of additional incidents if precautions are not taken.
This type of incident once again highlights the need to strengthen security in the transportation of hazardous materials, as well as supervision in high-traffic avenues, where a minor accident can quickly escalate into an emergency.
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