A previous assessment, Friday evening, reported twenty-two dead and more than fifty injured in this explosion probably due to a gas leak. Cuban rescuers continued their research on Saturday.
Le Monde with AFP
In Cuba, at least twenty-five people died in a powerful explosion which partially destroyed the Saratoga hotel on Friday in the center of Havana, the capital. A Spanish tourist is among the victims, according to a review revised upwards and communicated on Saturday May 7.
A previous assessment, Friday evening, reported twenty-two dead and more than fifty injured in this explosion, probably due to a gas leak. “New tragic people come to us from Cuba”, a tweeted the first Spanish minister, Pedro Sanchez : “A Spanish tourist died and another Spanish citizen is seriously injured after the explosion of the Saratoga hotel. All our affection for families and all victims and wounded. All our support Also to the Cuban people. “
The Cuban rescuers continued on Saturday to search the rubble of the luxury hotel in the hope of finding new survivors, noted a journalist from the France-Presse agency (AFP). Research is now concentrated inside the building and in the basement, said Cuban television.
work for a reopening on May 10
“What happened is very regrettable, destruction, especially losses of lives, and also injured people, but once again I want to highlight the speed with which the population and the institutions have mobilized” , wrote S ur twitter the President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz -Canel . “It is the solidarity that awarded,” he added while many Cubans rushed on Friday to give their blood and thus help the wounded.
iconic establishment of the old Havana with its green facade, the hotel, under construction, was closed for two years to tourists. Only were inside the workers and employees preparing for its reopening, scheduled from May 10.
The first four floors of the Saratoga hotel, classified 5 stars and known to have accommodated several celebrities in recent years including Mick Jagger, Beyoncé and Madonna, were blown in the explosion, which occurred Friday (5 p.m. , Paris time). Built in 1880 to house stores, the building had been transformed into a hotel in 1933 and renovated in order to make it a luxury establishment in 2005.