At least eight people were killed and several others injured after a huge explosion destroyed several floors of a hotel in the Cuban capital of Havana, according to reports.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the explosion at the Saratoga hotel was not caused by an explosion, adding that authorities are investigating the cause. Mr. Diaz-Canel said the explosion may have been due to a gas leak, Watchman mentioned.
CNN’s Havana bureau chief Patrick Opman, tweeting photos of the chaos, wrote that the area around the iconic hotel was a “horrific sight of devastation.”
It was found that at least three floors of the building were smashed in pictures from the scene, as clouds of dust and smoke rose into the air.
The first secretary of the party in Havana, Luis Antonio Torres Iribar, explains that so far 4 people have been confirmed dead. Search and rescue efforts are continuing at the hotel, where people may still be trapped,” the Cuban presidency tweeted.
Police and firefighters are searching the ruins in search of survivors. Buses and cars nearby were also destroyed. CNN reported. Rescue workers also arrived at the hotel as officials sealed off the area, including adjacent buildings.
The hotel is located in Old Town Havana, next to a school and not far from the historic Capitolio building.
After being built as a warehouse in 1880, it was rebuilt as a hotel in 1933. According to the hotel websiteIt reopened in 2005 after renovations.
“Although we have not been able to verify the origin of his name, it is likely that he originated from the US resort city of Saratoga in the state of New York,” The site states.
“Our solidarity with the victims and those affected, as well as the people of that dear sister nation,” Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard wrote on Twitter.