A powerful explosion at a luxury hotel in central Havana has killed at least 22 people, with 64 people injured, the Cuban Presidential Office said in an update on Saturday.
“The explosion was not a bomb nor an attack,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated after visiting the disaster scene and a local hospital, according to Xinhua news agency.
According to the Presidential Office, the big explosion at Hotel Saratoga was caused by a gas leak.
The five-star hotel, which is located directly across from the island’s National Capitol building, was set to reopen on May 10 as part of an effort to help the island nation’s tourism economy recover from the Covid-19 outbreak.
Rescue activities are still ongoing, and traffic has been diverted away from the hotel’s vicinity.
“Patients are now being treated at eight health facilities in Havana, including two paediatric hospitals,” Julio Guerra, the head of the Ministry of Health’s hospital services, said.
After the unfortunate occurrence, Havana Governor Reinaldo Garcia emphasised the significance of community cohesion.
Buildings around the hotel were also damaged by the bomb, he added, adding that “thousands of people continue to volunteer to donate blood.”
An investigation into the explosion is underway, local media reported.
(with inputs from IANS)