Photos from Granma, the Communist Party’s official daily, showed images of the multi-story Hotel Saratoga whose walls were apparently blown away by the blast. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.
A Reuters witness saw smoke and flames coming from the building. Police and rescue workers swarmed the scene, cordoning off key points and nearby buildings, including the historic Capitol building.
A photo from the scene shows what appears to be at least one body at the scene, covered in a white cloth.
The hotel was remodeled by a British company after the fall of the Soviet Union and was considered the place to go for visiting government officials and ‘celebrities’ for many years. Recently it had lost some of its shine with the opening of new hotels in Havana, but it was still a five star place.
The hotel had been prepared for a post-pandemic reopening in four days, according to its Facebook page.