updatedMay 6, 2022, 10:18 p.m.
A powerful explosion has occurred in Cuba’s capital, Havana. At least nine people died. 40 are being treated in hospitals.
The facade of the hotel has partially collapsed.
20min
At least nine people were killed in an explosion at a luxury hotel in the old town of the Cuban capital, Havana. About 40 injured were being treated in hospitals, reported “Granma”, the newspaper of the Communist Party of Cuba.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the well-known five-star hotel a few steps from the Capitol has been closed for regarding two years. It should be reopened next Tuesday. A witness reported that the hotel was being supplied with liquid gas at the moment of the explosion, reported “Granma”.
The explosion happened shortly following 11 a.m. (local time, 5 p.m. CEST). Journalists from the AFP news agency reported that large parts of the facade of the Hotel Saratoga, which is currently being renovated, were destroyed. The area was littered with debris and broken glass. In addition, several vehicles were destroyed.
“We felt a huge blast and a cloud of dust that reached the park (opposite the hotel), many people ran out,” said Rogelio García, a bicycle taxi driver. “There was a terrible explosion and everything collapsed,” said a woman whose face was covered in dust and who declined to give her name.
Gas leak is said to have led to the explosion
“Initial findings indicate that the explosion was triggered by a gas leak,” the presidential office said in another post on Twitter.
Hotel Saratoga features 96 rooms, two restaurants and a rooftop pool. Stars like Madonna and Beyoncé have stayed there in recent years. CNN journalist Patrick Oppmann speaks of a “terrible picture of destruction”.
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(DPO/job)