At least eight people were killed, around 30 injured and 13 others were missing on Friday following the strong explosion which partially destroyed the Saratoga hotel in central Havana on Friday, probably due to a gas leak.
“So far, eight people have died and around 30 are hospitalized,” the Cuban presidency said on Twitter.
Shortly before, the first secretary of the Communist Party in Havana, Luis Antonio Torres Iribar, had reported that “13 people (were) missing” and warned: “search and rescue work continues in the hotel, where he is other people may be trapped” under the rubble.
Emblematic establishment of Old Havana with its green facade, the hotel, under construction, was closed to tourists. The only employees inside were preparing for its reopening, scheduled for May 10.
“The first findings indicate that the explosion was caused by a gas leak,” said the account of the Cuban presidency on Twitter.
According to the local leader of the historic district of Havana, Alexis Costa Silva, quoted by the state media Cubadebate, a canister of liquid gas was being changed in the hotel. The cook smelled gas and discovered a crack in the pipe, which caused the explosion.
“It was neither a bomb nor an attack, it was a regrettable accident,” said President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who arrived on the spot shortly followingwards, thus wanting to put an end to rumors on social networks which evoked the attacks. bombings in several hotels in the 1990s, sponsored by Cuban exiles.
The first four floors of the Saratoga hotel, classified 5 stars with its 96 rooms, two restaurants and rooftop swimming pool, were blown up in the explosion, which occurred around 11:00 a.m. local time (1500 GMT) and the ground was strewn with debris and pieces of glass, noted AFP journalists.
A few minutes following the explosion, a thick cloud of smoke and dust spread over the avenue du Prado, where the hotel is located, a stone’s throw from the famous Capitole public building.
“We felt a huge explosion and a cloud of dust that reached the park (opposite the hotel, editor’s note), many people ran out,” Rogelio Garcia, driver of the car, told AFP. a bicitaxi passing in front of the Saratoga at the time of the explosion.
“There was a terrible explosion and everything collapsed,” said a woman, her face covered in dust, who did not want to give her name.
Several vehicles were also destroyed near this hotel, known to have hosted several celebrities in recent years, including Madonna and Beyoncé.
Built in 1880 to house shops, the building was transformed into a hotel in 1933 and renovated as a luxury hotel in 2005.
The police, who arrived in large numbers, fenced off the perimeter while the emergency services searched for possible additional victims in the rubble at the foot of the hotel. At least two ambulances and five fire engines were present on the spot, noted AFP.
At least two ambulances and five fire engines were present on the spot, noted AFP.
President Diaz-Canel, who also went to a hospital where the wounded were being treated, told the doctors: “Be the best, we must save ours”.
“Solidarity and dismay,” tweeted Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, who offered his “sincere condolences to the families of the victims.”
A school is located right next to the hotel but luckily, “all the children were evacuated and none were injured”, indicated the Cuban presidency.
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