Cuba: At least 8 dead and dozens injured after powerful explosion at Havana hotel, officials say | World News
At least eight people have been killed and dozens injured after a powerful explosion at a five-star hotel in central Havana, officials said.
According to the Twitter account of the office of President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who had been to the site, the explosion at the Saratoga Hotel, a 19th-century structure in Old Havana, was apparently caused by a gas leak.
The tweet also confirmed the deaths of at least eight people and said 30 people had been hospitalized.
Authorities continued that an investigation into the explosion was continuing but “everything indicates that the explosion occurred by accident”.
Search and rescue efforts are underway for those who may be trapped.
Havana’s governor, Reinaldo Garcia Zapata, said the hotel was under renovation and no tourists were staying there, the Communist Party newspaper Granma reported.
Photos from the scene show the multi-storey hotel severely damaged, many walls blown off, exposing the rooms inside and dust clouds billowing in the sky.
The mother-of-two, Yazira de la Caridad, said the explosion rocked her home, a block away from the hotel.
“The whole building moved. I thought it was an earthquake.
“I still have my heart in my hand,” she said.
Police cordoned off the area as firefighters and ambulance crews worked inside and a nearby school was evacuated.
The 96-room hotel is located in the historic center of Old Havana and was remodeled by a British company after the fall of the Soviet Union.
It is billed as a place to visit government officials and celebrities and has bars, restaurants, spas, gyms and rooftop pools, according to its website.
A Reuters witness also saw smoke and flames coming from the building.
According to travel agency The Healthy Holiday Company, luxury rooms at hotels can cost between £400 and £598 per person for a three-night stay.
According to the hotel’s Facebook page, the hotel was prepared to reopen after the pandemic in four days.
