Tanker blast kills 26 at top Cuban hotel
THE death toll in the devastating gas tanker explosion at a five-star hotel in Cuba has risen to 26, with 74 people injured.
A pregnant woman and four children were among the dead at the Saratoga Hotel in Havana, which has been frequented by Madonna and Beyoncé.
Several floors of the building were destroyed.
Rescuers were yesterday looking for survivors of the blast which happened at 11am on Friday.
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who visited the site, said: “It was not a bomb or an attack, it’s an unfortunate accident.”
The hotel had been shut while workers prepared it for reopening next week.
It comes as Cuba struggles to restart its tourist trade after Covid.