Cuba: 25 dead in the explosion of a hotel in Havana, the research is organized

Hotel under construction

Residents of neighboring homes damaged by the blast were evacuated as a precaution to accommodation centers, the television said.

Under construction, the Saratoga hotel had been closed to tourists for two years due to the pandemic.

Only workers and employees were inside preparing for its reopening, scheduled for May 10.

A gas leak was the cause of the explosion

Built in 1880 to house shops, the neoclassical building was transformed into a hotel in 1933 and renovated into a luxury establishment in 2005, classified 5 stars with its 96 rooms, two restaurants and swimming pool on the roof.

The first elements indicate that a gas leak during a refueling operation by a tanker truck was the cause of the explosion, which occurred on Friday around 11:00 a.m. (3:00 p.m. GMT).

“It was neither a bomb nor an attack, it was an unfortunate accident“, declared Friday the president Miguel Diaz-Canel, arrived on the spot shortly after, thus wanting to put an end to the rumors on the social networks which evoked the bomb attacks which occurred in several hotels in the years 1990, ordered by Cuban exiles.

On Friday, the United States, Canada, the European Union and Venezuela in particular expressed their condolences to the Cuban authorities.

“Our thanks to the governments, organizations, friends and all those who, from different parts of the world, have expressed, in this moment of pain, their solidarity with our people and the relatives of the victims of the tragic accident at the Saratoga Hotel“Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tweeted on Saturday.

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