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The death toll of 22, including a pregnant woman with a child and over 60 injured is the tragic balance of a massive explosion that destroyed the front of one of Cuba’s most exclusive five-star hotels.
It is believed that a gas tanker truck which was parked outside the Saratoga Hotel in Old Havana caught fire, causing the explosion that destroyed several floors of the building.
The historic hotel would finally reopen these days after the pandemic, but it now remains in ruins, with most of the exterior walls collapsed.
Search-and-rescue operations are underway there to find people trapped under the rubble. The injured are being treated at the nearest hospitals.
Yazira de la Caridad, who lives a block away from the hotel, told CBS News that “she thought there was no earthquake, that was the force of the explosion.”
Witnesses said they saw plumes of black smoke and clouds of dust rising into the sky. Thankfully, a school located directly behind the hotel was not affected, and local officials confirmed that all the children there had been safely evacuated.
“Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel insisted it was not a bomb or an attack, but an unfortunate accident.” The incident comes at a time when tourism in the country is trying to recover from two difficult years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Saratoga Hotel, a landmark in the capital’s colonial neighborhood, has been closed for renovation for most of this period.
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