(CNN) –– At least 8 people died following a large explosion that shook the center of Havana, Cuba, this Friday and destroyed the Saratoga Hotel, according to the island’s government.
In addition, approximately 30 people are hospitalized, according to the authorities.
Earlier, the government indicated that 13 people are missing. “Search and rescue work is continuing at the hotel, where people may still be trapped.”
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion in the city center. However, the government He noted on his Twitter account that “Preliminary investigations indicate that the explosion was caused by a gas leak.”
President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the site of the explosion and the Hermanos Ameijera hospital, where several victims were transferred, according to images shared by the Cuban Presidency on Twitter.
Cuban police and firefighters search the rubble for survivors of the explosion in downtown Havana.
A “massive explosion”
Witnesses told CNN correspondent Patrick Oppmann at the scene that a “massive explosion” had occurred.
Images from the scene show the destroyed facade of at least three floors of the building. Plumes of dust and smoke might also be seen rising around the debris on the ground.
Buses and cars outside the hotel were also destroyed.
The hotel, which was built in the 1930s and has 96 rooms, was reopened in 2005 following a renovation, according to its website.
Cuban police and firefighters searched the rubble for survivors.
The scene of the explosion.
Mexico expresses its solidarity with Cuba
Mexico’s foreign minister tweeted his solidarity with victims in Cuba on Friday, following a massive explosion destroyed the Hotel Saratoga and nearby vehicles in the capital Havana, leaving rescuers combing the rubble for survivors. .
“Our solidarity with the victims and affected as well as with the people of that beloved and fraternal nation,” tweeted Marcelo Ebrard.
Ebrard confirmed that the visit of the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to Cuba in the coming days will take place as scheduled.
With information from Abel Alvarado, Karol Suárez and Jorge Engels.
News in development…
