A pregnant woman, a Spanish woman and 4 minors among the dead: what is known about the victims of the explosion in the hotel in Cuba

Passers-by, neighbors, workers and employees of the Saratoga hotel form the bulk of the victims of the worst human tragedy in Cuba since the May 2018 plane crash that left 112 dead.

Friday’s explosion has so far caused 26 deaths, according to the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), although a local spokeswoman for the Red Cross told the press that the deaths total 32.

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At the Saratoga hotel, where renovation work was culminating to reopen on May 10 after more than two years closed due to the pandemic, there were 51 employees and two external workers, according to local tourism authorities.

From them, 11 have died6 are hospitalized with injuries of varying degrees and 13 are still missing, reported the state company Gaviota, which operates the hotel.

The explosion destroyed the facade of the Saratoga, bound in a 6-story building built in 1879 and remodeled several times. (GETTY IMAGES)

Among the 26 deceased identified by the MINSAP there is a corpse of a 76-year-old man who has not been claimed by relatives or close people.

Four are minors: a 10-year-old boy, two 15-year-olds and a 17-year-oldwho died before they could be taken to hospital.

With regret we share the names of the people who have died after the unfortunate accident of the #HotelSaratoga.#ForceCuba pic.twitter.com/XafNzmV4fq

— Cuba Presidency ???????? (@PresidenciaCuba) May 7, 2022

Five students were injured, three of them from a primary school across the street from the hotel, according to the provincial education director.

The Ministry of Health indicated that a girl had to undergo emergency surgery for a skull fracture and that an adult required an amputation.

Messages of pain in the networks

As the identity of the corpses was revealed, social networks in Cuba were filled with messages of pain and reminders to the victims of this fatal accident caused, according to the first investigations, by a gas leak.

Between them a 28-year-old woman from Havana who was pregnant.

“Take good care of your mom and your daughter from wherever you are,” reads the Facebook post by a relative of the deceased.

According to the first conclusions, a leak in the hose that supplied gas to the hotel from a tanker truck could have been the cause of the explosion. (GETTY IMAGES)

All the dead are Cubans (22 from Havana and 3 from the eastern city of Holguín) with the exception of a 29-year-old Spanish woman.

The young woman, who was in Cuba on vacation, was passing by when the explosion occurred.

The Saratoga Hotel It is located in one of the most touristic and crowded areas of the popular neighborhood of Old Havana, in front of the emblematic Capitol, and in front of its doors passers-by usually congregate to wait for taxis or other means of transport.

wounded and missing

The explosion also left 80 injured, of which 46 (including 15 minors) are hospitalized and 15 are in critical or serious condition.

Rescue worker at the Saratoga hotel. (GETTY IMAGES)

Among them is a Spaniard, a partner of the deceased tourist, who underwent an operation and “fighted for his life” in a hospital, according to municipal authorities in Havana.

Cubans have launched a social media campaign to donate blood to hospitals treating the wounded.

Besides, at least 17 people remain missingaccording to the Red Cross and other sources.

a difficult rescue

The emergency personnel continue the rescue work in the collapsed building in the hope of finding them alive.

It is believed that there could be survivors in the basement and under the rubble between the building and surrounding constructions.

The Cuban authorities stressed that it is very difficult to access the basement, since the upper floors collapsed on the lowest part and moving the debris could cause new collapses or endanger the lives of possible survivors.

Relatives of the disappeared, most of them hotel workers, have circulated photos of them on social media, hoping they will be found elsewhere.

In fact, two people who appeared on the list of missing persons were located in other places in the past few hours.

The enormous amount of debris makes it difficult to find survivors. (GETTY IMAGES)

Rescue workers work with available maps and plans of the six-story hotel, and are assisted by employees who know the building.

The explosion also caused serious material damage in the surroundings of the Saratoga.

Another 23 nearby buildings were damaged to varying degrees and in one of them, adjacent to the hotel, 15 of its 30 apartments collapsedaccording to Cuban media.

A total of 37 families have been evacuated and rehoused in temporary accommodation, authorities reported.

Source: Elcomercio