Saratoga Hotel: 22 Dead After Huge Explosion in Havana

The Cuban presidency said the dead included a pregnant woman and a child.

The injured are being treated at nearby hospitals.

Yazira de la Caridad, who lives a block from the hotel, told CBS News she “thought [the explosion] was an earthquake”.

Witnesses said they saw plumes of black smoke and clouds of dust billowing into the sky following the explosion.

A school which is located directly behind the hotel was unaffected, with local officials confirming all its children have been safely evacuated.

Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel has visited the damage site, which sits opposite the government’s old congressional building. The president said: “It was not a bomb or an attack, it’s an unfortunate accident.”

The incident comes as tourism in the country was re-emerging from two difficult years caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Saratoga Hotel, a landmark in the colonial district of the capital, had been closed for refurbishment during much of this period.

The 19th century building is synonymous in Havana with visiting celebrities – after stars such as Madonna, Beyonce and Mick Jagger stayed there during the thaw between Havana and Washington under President Barack Obama.

Source: BBC News