At least 22 dead in the explosion of a luxury hotel in Havana

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  • The detonation destroyed a large part of the luxurious hotel, located in the old town of the Cuban capital

“It was not a bomb or an attackit is an unfortunate accident,” said the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel after the explosion in a valued hotel in the center of Havana that caused the death of at least 22 people. According to official information, another 64 inhabitants have been injured, some extremely seriously. “We will get the experiences, we will assess the damage and we will recover,” Díaz-Canel told a perplexed population, when he was present at the scene of the disaster.

The Presidency reported on Twitter that among the deceased there is a minor and a pregnant woman and that among the injured there are 14 minors (three critical and two serious). Ten adults and three children have undergone surgery due to the injuries suffered. The Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, assured that there are no foreigners among the injured. The removal of rubble from the Saratoga hotel, emblematic of the capital’s historic center, may reveal new sad information in the coming hours. “Wow there, we have to save our people”Díaz Canel asked the director of the Calixto García Hospital, where most of the wounded were transferred.

According to the authorities, preliminary investigations point to a gas leak. In turn, the Government reported that it will take measures to assist the families of the victims and the residents of the 17 residential buildings that have been affected by the explosion.

a luxury hotel

The Saratoga was built at the end of the 19th century and has since left its mark on Havana. When Castroism bet on the tourist industry as a way out of the collapse of the Soviet partner, the hotel was remodeled to become a five-star establishment. It is managed by the state group Gaviota. The Saratoga had closed its doors as a result of the pandemic. It is scheduled to reopen for next Monday. At the time of the tragedy, a group of workers was preparing the facilities. A meeting of directors of the tourism sector was also held.

explosion and collapse

The event occurred minutes before 11 in the morning, when a liquefied gas tanker truck was serving a hotel tank. The most likely hypothesis is that the explosion was due to a crack in the truck’s hose. Its force was so great that a section of the seven-story building collapsed and the facade of the first three floors fell off, causing tons of debris to rain down on a normally busy sidewalk. The tanker truck was partially buried. The explosion also caused a large column of smoke, which was visible in much of the capital.

Firefighters, police officers and emergency teams quickly rushed to the scene of the events, taking those affected to several nearby hospitals. A group of specialists then began to clear the area in search of possible victims trapped in the building, tasks that lasted until night. At the same time, the damaged tanker truck, which still had highly flammable liquefied gas inside, was lifted with a crane and with great precautions, and it was deposited in a large truck for its transfer.

In the next few days, a technical inspection of the building will have to be carried out to decide if it can be restored or if the structural damage warrants its demolition.

Historic center and tourism

The Saratoga was located in a neoclassical-style building built in 1880 and had been operating as a hotel since 1911. After undergoing a comprehensive reform, it was reopened in 2005. One of the most luxurious in the Cuban capital, among the Saratoga’s clients there have been highlighted the American artists Beyoncé and Madonna, the German dressmaker Karl Lagerfeld and the singer of the Rolling Stones, the British Mick Jagger. The hotel was located in the heart of the historic area of ​​Old Havana, next to the Capitol, one of the main tourist attractions in the country.

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The event occurs when the tourist sector of the island tries to reactivate itself after two years of forced hiatus due to the pandemic, which has exacerbated the country’s economic difficulties. Tourism is the second largest sector of the Cuban gross domestic product (GDP), with a contribution of 10% in 2019, and the second source of foreign exchange earnings. The Minister of Tourism pointed in this direction when he assured, upon visiting the scene of the incident, that the workers who were in the Saratoga had “tremendous hope in the recovery of the sector.” Cuba has received more than 450,000 tourists between January and April and hopes to achieve 2.5 million foreign visitors for the year as a whole. The figure is significantly higher than the previous year, but still far from the pre-pandemic volume.

Governments of America and Europe, mainly, have sent a message of condolences to Cuba and shown their solidarity with the Caribbean country after this event.



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