Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel announced on Friday the passing of a second Turkish worker injured in the fire aboard the power generation barge in Havana Bay. "After battling for his life for several days, Fuat Türkyilmaz, a Turkish worker from the floating power station, succumbed to his injuries early this morning. We extend our condolences to his family, colleagues, and the Government of Turkey," Díaz-Canel stated on his X account.
The day before, the death of another worker, Halil Karadeniz, was reported. Karadeniz was in critical condition at Havana's Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital with burns covering 40% of his body. These two men were the first fatalities from the September 26th incident, which occurred during welding operations on the Turkish-owned barge in Havana Bay.
Details of the Tragic Incident
A total of eight individuals sustained injuries due to the accident, with two initially classified as critically injured and a third as very serious at the Ameijeiras Hospital. The remaining patients received treatment at Calixto García Hospital. According to Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy, the blaze was swiftly contained, and the injured workers were provided with medical care.
Reports indicated that five Turkish nationals and one Cuban remained hospitalized with varying prognoses at the "Hermanos Ameijeiras" and "General Calixto García" hospitals. Three of the injured were under the care of the Hermanos Ameijeiras Clinical Surgical Hospital.
Medical Update on Injured Workers
Dr. Trujillo Sánchez gave a detailed update, noting that the patients had suffered severe burns: "We are dealing with three patients with approximately 40%, 30%, and 20% burns, respectively," he explained. The medical report indicated that two of these individuals were in extremely critical condition, while the third was very seriously injured.
The depth of the burns was significant in some cases, reaching up to 20% into the subdermal layer, complicating their recovery process even further.