ACN Photo

Havana, August 19 (RHC)--More than 15 thousand Cubans participated in the funeral honors of those who died in the confrontation of the fire of great proportions that affected the western province of Matanzas.

During the day, the population braved the intense heat and the rain to express, in the Firefighters Museum of the city, their respect and gratitude to those who died in the line of duty during the fight against the fire that started last August 5 in the city's Industrial Zone.

Army General Raul Castro and President Miguel Diaz-Canel led the last guard of honor in front of the funeral urns of the 14 missing in the incident before the departure of the funeral procession to the local cemetery for the private burial ceremony.

People expressed their respect on both sides of the avenues along the route of the caravan that carried the 14 cinerary urns of those missing in the incident to the Pantheon of the Fallen for the Defense, in the city's necropolis, for the private burial ceremony.

The blaze at the Matanzas Supertanker Base left 16 dead and more than 140 injured and caused considerable damage to the infrastructure of the industrial facility and surrounding communities.