In Cuba, at least 25 people died in a powerful explosion that partially destroyed the Saratoga Hotel in the center of Havana, the capital, on Friday. A Spanish tourist is among the victims, according to a report revised upwards and communicated on Saturday May 7.
A previous report, Friday evening, reported twenty-two dead and more than fifty injured in this explosion, probably due to a gas leak. “Tragic news reaches us from Cuba”has tweeted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez : “A Spanish tourist has died and another Spanish citizen is seriously injured after the Hotel Saratoga explosion. All our affection to the families and to all the victims and injured. All our support also for the Cuban people. »
Cuban rescuers continued to search through the rubble of the luxury hotel on Saturday in the hope of finding new survivors, a journalist from Agence France-Presse (AFP) noted. Research is now concentrated inside the building and in the basement, Cuban television said.
Works for a reopening on May 10
“What happened is very regrettable, the destruction, especially the loss of life, and also the injured people, but once again I want to highlight the speed with which the population and the institutions have mobilized”wrote son Twitter the President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel. “It was solidarity that prevailed”he added as many Cubans rushed to donate blood on Friday to help the injured.
Emblematic establishment of Old Havana with its green facade, the hotel, under construction, had been closed to tourists for two years. Only workers and employees were inside preparing for its reopening, scheduled for May 10.
The first four floors of the Saratoga Hotel, classified 5 stars and known for having hosted several celebrities in recent years including Mick Jagger, Beyoncé and Madonna, were blown up in the explosion, which occurred around 11 a.m. on Friday (5 p.m. Paris). Built in 1880 to house shops, the building was transformed into a hotel in 1933 and renovated into a luxury establishment in 2005.