HAVANA, May 6 (Reuters) – A deadly blast struck a well-known hotel in central Havana on Friday, tearing a slot several stories high in the side of the building, killing at least eight people and sending 30 others to hospital, witnesses said. state media.
Speaking on the Cuban television scene, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the explosion at the Saratoga Hotel was not caused by a bomb, adding that the most likely cause seemed to be a gas leak.
State television said the blast was “not a terrorist attack” and that as search and rescue efforts continued, it was unclear whether additional casualties remained trapped in the rubble.
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The hotel was closed and only workers were inside during the blast, the state channel added, citing Roberto Enrique Calzadila, a spokesman for the military company that runs many of the country’s hotels.
In a broadcast, Calzadila said the 96-room hotel was ready to reopen in the next few days and that workers on site were making final preparations.
He also pointed to a gas leak as a possible cause of the tragedy.
The wreckage was scattered after an explosion destroyed the Saratoga Hotel in Havana, Cuba, May 6, 2022. REUTERS / Alexandre Meneghini
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“The workers … were doing repairs and doing all the work to open the property, and in the morning they were supplying gas and it looks like an accident caused an explosion,” he said.
Photos from Granma, the official Communist Party daily, show images of the hotel with walls that have apparently been blown out.
Police and rescue workers flocked to the area, cutting 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 on stage with a white towel on it.
Nearby ambulances were spotted approaching a hospital in Havana’s Old Quarter, surrounded by a crowd of doctors, nurses, police and curious onlookers.
The neoclassical hotel was rebuilt by a British company after the fall of the Soviet Union and has been considered a place to visit for government officials and celebrities for many years. It recently lost some of its luster with the opening of new hotels in Havana, but it was still a five-star resort.
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Additional reports by Mark Frank and Nelson Acosta; Edited by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell
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