Havana Hotel explosion: Death toll rises to 27
The death toll from a powerful explosion at the Saratoga Hotel in Havana on Saturday has been reduced to 27 and 87 people injured.
One of the victims was a 29-year-old Spanish tourist who was walking near the hotel when her husband, a Spaniard, was seriously injured.
AFP
On Saturday, a body was removed from the rubble of the Saradoka Hotel, an identity agency in Havana, which exploded the previous day, bringing the new makeshift number to 27. “There is a new death, (one body) removed from the scene, the number is 27,” Julio Guerrero, head of hospital services at the Ministry of Health, said at a news conference. Adult female.
Several Cuban independent media outlets reported 19 missing persons and published a list with their names and contact numbers. Officials only pointed out that 19 families had heard the news about their relatives. Four children and a youth were among the victims of the blast due to a gas leak. Of the 81 injured, 37 were admitted to the hospital Saturday at the end of the day, Dr. Guerra said.
If there were no tourists inside the Saratoga Hotel, which was closed for two years due to the epidemic, they were preparing to reopen it after work scheduled for next Tuesday.
“At the time of the accident, 51 staff were working in the building (…), 11 of whom died, 13 were missing, six were hospitalized and the rest were recovering. Get out on time,” he said. Roberto Enriquez Calzadilla, spokesman for the Gaviota Tourism Group, during a press conference.
“We must move forward” in research
One of the victims was a 29-year-old Spanish tourist who was walking near the hotel when her husband, a Spaniard, was seriously injured. “Our love for families and all those affected and injured. Our support for the Cuban people,” tweeted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sசnchez. Kobe told reporters in tears that he could not find his daughter in the morgue or in the hospital.
The search for firefighters in the rubble continued Saturday.
AFP
The search for bodies or survivors continued Saturday evening at two underground sites, with access largely hampered by an AFP reporter. On Friday afternoon, a woman called for help from the basement.
“We must move forward, further down, there may be comrades alive, and the longer we delay, the less likely they are to survive,” said Ramiro Valdes, deputy prime minister and commander of the 1959 revolution.
Saratoga, a stone ‘throw away from the famed Capitol, the seat of the National Assembly, has the recognizable green facade of old Havana and its star hotel – welcoming Mick Jagger, Beyonc மற்றும் and Madonna. But on Saturday morning, it exhibited its decomposed corpse, with the first four bases blown away by the eruption.
Residents were evicted
On Twitter, President Miguel Diaz-Colonel praised the “momentum of mobilization of population and companies”. As many Cubans rushed to donate blood on Friday, “unity prevailed,” he said, thus coming to the aid of the wounded. Television said residents of neighboring houses damaged by the bombing were evacuated to shelters as a precaution.
Built in 1880, the neoclassical building was converted into a hotel in 1933 and renovated into a luxury company in 2005. It has 96 rooms, two restaurants and a 5-star swimming pool on the roof.
The first elements indicate that the gas leak during the refueling operation of the tanker truck was the cause of the explosion at 11:00 am (GMT 3:00 pm) on Friday. On Friday, the United States, Canada, the European Union and Venezuela offered their condolences, especially to Cuban officials. On Saturday, China expressed its deepest condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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