The collapse occurred around 2:15 AM in a building located on Compostela Street between Sol and Muralla, in Old Havana.
HAVANA, Cuba – A partial collapse occurred this Sunday around 2:15 AM in a building located on Compostela Street between Sol and Muralla, in Old Havana. The preliminary balance of the incident includes several affected families and one deceased.
A reporter from Cubanet He went to the scene and was able to talk to several neighbors. According to what they said, the building was in a poor construction state and the collapse occurred in its rear part.
Several people lived in the property: a woman with four children, an elderly woman, and also an elderly man with his son.
Images sent to our editorial office show the authorities and rescuers working to address the tragedy. As of this writing, the 68-year-old father has been reported deceased and firefighters are searching the rubble for his 30-year-old son.
This new collapse on Compostela Street adds to a series of structural collapses that in recent years have hit Havana, marked by the deterioration of buildings, the shortage of construction materials and the lack of interest of the Cuban regime in providing systematic maintenance; which contrasts with the unstoppable construction of hotels.
At the end of last September, very close to the direction of this collapse, but on Sol Street, another building collapsed leaving several people trapped inside.
The Cuban Government has recognized that about 1,000 homes collapse each year in the capital, a situation that has caused the death of adults and children.
The shortage of adequate housing has led many families to live in government-run collective shelters, which lack the necessary basic resources. Other people choose to return to buildings in poor condition, despite the risk of collapse, due to the terrible conditions of the shelters.
On September 16, a partial collapse also occurred in a building located at the intersection of Industria and San Rafael streets, in the Centro Habana municipality. The incident left three people injured—one adult and two minors—and led to the preventive evacuation of residents, according to the Municipal Administration Council (CAM) of Central Havana. on your Facebook page on this Tuesday afternoon.
According to the same source, “the fall of an elevator attachment located on the roof affected the 8th and 7th floors, injuring three people: one adult and two minors.”
