A liquefied gas leak occurred this Saturday at the La Unión hotel, in the Cuban city of Hundred fireswas controlled in a short time without having to regret material losses or human lives, official media on the Island report.
To the tourist facility, managed by the Spanish chain Meliacame forces from the Fire Department, the authorities of the territory and workers of the UEB Territorial Division of Fuel Marketing, to carry out “the pertinent actions” and contain the leak, according to review the local telecentre pearlvision.
At the time of the event, the hotel had 85 guests, who were all evacuated to a safe place along with most of the workers, in accordance with the protocols established for these cases.
Controlled gas leak at Hotel La Unión, by Meliá, in #Hundred fires #Cuba. All 85 guests are doing well pic.twitter.com/FhUbE5U8VW
– Cienfuegos Love (@200Cienfuegos) July 30, 2022
According to statements made by a hotel manager, a possible accident could be avoided thanks to the fact that a hotel maintenance worker detected the leak when checking the fuel tank. gas liquefied to account for consumption.
The same official confirmed that part of the guests was transferred to the Martí Park, near the facility, and the other to the San Carlos hotel, also managed by the Meliá chain, while the hotel’s management team remained in the hotel to help firefighters control the situation.
The report specifies that the leak was caused by the breakage of the clip on the tank valve and confirms that the possibility that it was sabotage “to create panic” among residents and visitors was ruled out. Likewise, it ensures that the escape was completely controlled and after the work undertaken there is calm and safety for workers and guests.
For his part, a hotel employee indicated in a television report of pearlvision that the workers of the gas company worked so that the hotel begins to provide its services “as soon as possible”.
“It was a failure of a safety valve that was certified and did not work properly. All the gas in the deposit was released, there are no risks in the hotel and a new one is being located in our warehouses to replace it,” the source explained.
This event occurs a few months after the explosion that occurred in the Saratoga hotelin Havana, which left numerous victims and partially destroyed that tourist facility and other nearby buildings.
Although the final results of the investigation into the definitive causes of the event that occurred on May 6 have not yet been revealed, everything indicates that it was an accident in the transfer of liquefied gas from a tanker truck to a deposit located in the referred hotel.
Although at the time of the incident the Saratoga was not providing services, it affected a total of 99 people including workers, neighbors and passers-by, and finally left the figure of 47 dead. Another 52 people managed to survive the event, with injuries of different degrees.
Among those killed by the explosion was a Spanish citizen whose partner, of the same nationality, was also seriously injured, although he ultimately saved his life and, after being treated in Cuba, return to his country on May 30 to continue his recovery.
