Rescue and rescue forces looking for survivors of the explosion that occurred in the Saratoga hotelin Havana, found four other lifeless bodies during the last hours, which this Monday brings the fatalities of the event to 35, according to official figures.
According to the most recent update made by him Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) of Cuba, with data collected up to 11:30 am on May 9, one of the deceased was until that moment in the process of identification. The injured in the accident rose to 89.
The health agency reports that 20 of the injured are still hospitalized; of them 15 adults and five minors. Another 34 have already been discharged to continue their recovery at home.
The same information points out that in the six hospital institutions that currently care for these patients, four adults and three children remain in critical condition, while the rest remain reported as serious or care.
The human remains recovered under the rubble left by the accident, presumably related to a leak in the transfer of liquefied gas to a hotel tank, belong to workers at the facility, according to statements made this Monday morning by Javier Martínez Díaz, member of the Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) in Havana, and published on the official website Cubadebate.
The media reports that work continues so that firefighters and rescuers have broader access to the basement areas where it is presumed that there are trapped people, whose number could be between 12 or 13, according to information provided by relatives of those who are still reported missing.
The source adds that the authorities continue to evaluate the conditions of the infrastructure to access the pool. Luis Guzmán, head of the Cuban Fire Department, told national television that work will be done uninterruptedly to find as quickly as possible the people trapped in the rubble of the building damaged in the unfortunate event.
In his statements, Guzmán also explained that the search and rescue work is carried out with extreme care due to the concentration of debris and the danger of the structure collapsing.
|Updated information on the status of those injured in the accident of the #HotelSaratoga|
So far 89 people have been injured, of which 20 are hospitalized, 34 patients have been discharged and 35 have died.
?https://t.co/0UriF8dNtL pic.twitter.com/n16l7mSz7i
— Cuban Ministry of Public Health (@MINSAPCuba) May 9, 2022
In addition to the one occupied by the Saratoga hotel, another 17 buildings were damaged by the shock wave of the explosion, and according to a dispatch from the agency Ephthe experts carry out a technical evaluation of three blocks and the hotel itself, to analyze whether they can be recovered or should be demolished.
The Spanish agency reminds that the Saratoga was built in 1880 and from 1911 it worked as a hotel. Its last restoration took place in 2005, when the building was reformed in depth, it acquired the category of five stars and was cataloged among the most luxurious in the Cuban capital.
Efe / OnCuba
