22 killed in Havana hotel explosion
A powerful explosion apparently caused by a natural gas leak Friday killed at least 22 people and injured dozens when it blew away outer walls from a five-star hotel in the heart of Cuba’s capital.
No tourists were staying at the 96-room Hotel Saratoga because it was undergoing renovations, Havana Gov. Reinaldo Garcia Zapata told the Communist Party newspaper Granma.
“It has not been a bomb or an attack. It is a tragic accident,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who visited the site, said in a tweet.
Senior officials said at least 74 people were injured, including 14 children.
Cuban state TV reported that the blast was caused by a truck that had been supplying natural gas to the hotel, but did not provide details on how the gas ignited.
Cuba’s national health minister, Jose Angel Portal, told the Associated Press the number of injured could rise as the search continues for people who may be trapped in the rubble of the 19th century structure in the Old Havana neighborhood of the city.
Police cordoned off the area as rescuers toiled inside the wreckage of the hotel, which is about 110 yards from Cuba’s Capitol building. The hotel has been used often by visiting VIPs and political figures.