Beijing, 8 May (Xinhua) -- The number of victims of an explosion at the Saratoga Hotel in Havana, Cuba, rose to 27 on the evening of 7 May. With the help of search and rescue dogs, the search and rescue work continued overnight.
In the early morning of the 7th, people found a survivor in the ruins. Search and rescuers said no survivors had been found in the above-ground part of the hotel and that they were concentrating on finding more survivors from the rubble on the two underground floors.
This is the Saratoga Hotel where the explosion occurred in Havana, cuba, on May 6. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez)
Health department official Julio Gra Ischiedo said on the evening of the 7th that the death toll rose to 27, including 4 minors and a pregnant woman, and the number of wounded increased to 81. The Spanish government confirmed that one Spanish tourist died and another was seriously injured. At the time of the explosion, the two happened to walk to the vicinity of the hotel.
Affected by the new crown epidemic, saratoga hotels have been closed for two years and are preparing to reopen on the 10th. A Cuban state-owned enterprise belonging to the hotel was scheduled to hold a press conference on the 7th. Company representatives said that at the time of the explosion, people were making final preparations for the opening of the hotel, and 51 hotel employees and 2 renovation workers were in the hotel, of which 11 people died, 13 people were missing, and 6 people were hospitalized.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the explosion may have been caused by a leak from a liquefied gas tanker outside the hotel while refueling. The investigation is still ongoing.
Emergency responders work at the scene of an explosion at the Saratoga Hotel in Havana, Cuba, on May 6. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez)
The Saratoga Hotel and the Cuban Capitol are located on the same street in the old town, just 100 metres away. The explosion damaged most of the hotel's façade, destroyed windows and disfigured cars parked outside the hotel. The explosion also affected the surrounding area, and the glass of the Parliament Building was broken and the brick walls were damaged.
Havana is a famous city in the Caribbean. The old town has preserved a variety of styles of architecture since the 16th century, and was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1982. Hotel Saratoga is a notable local landmark and offers a panoramic view of Old Havana.
Built in 1880, this five-storey, five-star hotel is a neoclassical building that was originally built to open shops, converted into a hotel in 1933 and renovated in 2005. Many foreign mission personnel and celebrities have stayed here.
Fire trucks stopped at the scene of an explosion at the Saratoga hotel in Havana, Cuba, on May 6. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez)
Cubans fear that the destruction of the old city by the explosion will drag down the recovery of Cuban tourism.
For too long, United States sanctions against Cuba have seriously hurt the Cuban economy. Barack Obama partially eased policy toward Cuba when he was president, but Donald Trump re-tightened sanctions against Cuba after taking over as president, including restricting U.S. citizens from traveling to Cuba and restricting remittances from the United States to Cuba. Joseph Biden continued the Trump administration's sanctions after he succeeded to the presidency.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought Cuba's tourism industry to a near standstill. In early 2022, the Cuban tourism market picked up and the old town of Havana was gradually opened to tourists. However, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in late February, triggering international sanctions and creating a new impact on Cuba's tourism industry. Russian tourists account for about a third of Cuba's foreign tourists in 2021, the data shows. (Guo Qian)
Source: Xinhua News Agency