The death toll in the gas explosion at a luxury hotel in the center of the Cuban capital has risen to 31. Rescuers with sniffer dogs searched the rubble of the Saratoga Hotel in Havana for more victims on Sunday. The Ministry of Health said four minors and one pregnant woman were among the dead.
24 people were treated in hospitals, 30 others with minor injuries have already been released. On Friday, a powerful explosion destroyed large parts of the Hotel Saratoga in Havana’s old town. According to initial findings, a tank had exploded just as liquid gas was being delivered. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the well-known five-star hotel, a few steps from the Capitol, has been closed for about two years. It should be reopened next Tuesday.
Search dogs searched the rubble for more victims on Sunday.
(Photo: Ismael Francisco/dpa)
The lower three floors of the neoclassical building were completely devastated, as can be seen in pictures. The force of the explosion tore the facade away, and the destroyed rooms could be seen from the street.
Tourism is one of the most important sources of income for the socialist island state. Before the pandemic, about half a million of Cuba’s roughly 11 million people worked in the state-run tourism industry, which accounted for around 10 percent of gross domestic product in 2020. Tourism in Cuba had already experienced a decline in 2019, partly due to tightened US sanctions.