The Pope Francisco He asked this Sunday for prayers for the victims of the explosion at the Saratoga hotel of Havana, which has claimed at least 27 lives, including that of a Spanish woman.
At the end of the Regina Coeli prayer in Saint Peter’s Square, the Supreme Pontiff recalled the hotel explosion and asked for prayers for the victims “so that Christ guides them to the father’s house”, while requesting that ” family support”, reports the agency EFE.
According to the latest data, the explosion due to a gas leak at the Saratoga hotel caused 27 deaths and left more than 80 injured, although these figures could continue to rise in the coming hours, because the debris removal work in the building continues and the search is still on. 19 people, mostly hotel workers.
Among the deceased is a woman from Galicia (Spain), María Cristina López-Cerón Ugarte, who was walking near the hotel when the explosion occurred. Her partner, César Román Santalla, was injured and remained hospitalized.
Román, who was on vacation in Havana with the deceased, continues to be admitted to a hospital in Havana, where he arrived in a very serious condition, for which he had to undergo immediate surgery.
Regarding his state of health, sources from the medical team that attend to him assure that it is early to know how the 30-year-old is going to evolve, so we still have to wait a few days to see his progression, reports EFE.
The agency also reports that the body of Cristina López-Cerón will arrive in Spain at the end of this week, according to sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ambassador, Ángel Martín Peccis, and the Spanish consul in Havana, José Antonio Hernández, who from the first moment have taken charge of the procedures, are trying to speed up all the procedures to be able to transfer the body of the 29-year-old victim and native of the Lugo town of Viveiro, points out the Spanish medium.
Condolences from the kings of Spain
Meanwhile, the king and queen of Spain sent a message of condolences to the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, on the occasion of the tragedy. In his message, the monarchs express their “great sadness and dismay and deep sense of regret” at the news of the explosion that has caused “such a high number of fatalities and injuries,” they informed EFE sources of the Royal House
“United with the pain of the friendly Cuban people,” affirm Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, who wanted to show all their “support and solidarity to the families of the deceased and best wishes for the recovery of the injured,” they state in the message .
The king addresses President Díaz-Canel from his “highest consideration and affection”, and conveys his “most affectionate greetings to the beloved Cuban people.”
The explosion occurred this Friday minutes before 11:00 in the morning, Cuban time, when a liquefied gas tanker truck was supplying a hotel tank, and the most likely thesis is that it was due to a crack in the hose of the truck.
Inside the hotel there was only a team of employees, who were working on setting up the property for its reopening on May 10, after being closed for two years due to the pandemic.
The Saratoga, an emblematic establishment in the historic center of Havana, is a neoclassical-style building built in 1880 and has been operating as a hotel since 1911. After undergoing comprehensive reform, it was reopened in 2005.
EFE / OnCuba
