The death toll from the violent accidental gas explosion that blew up the Saratoga Hotel in Havana on Friday rose to 40 on Monday, May 9, according to the Ministry of Health.
At the end of the afternoon, the toll was 54 people injured, 18 of whom are still hospitalized, and 40 dead, including four children and adolescents and a Spanish tourist.
Among the injured, six are still in critical condition and seven in serious condition, according to the ministry.
In the morning, the emergency services announced that they had removed four bodies from the rubble of the hotel, which then brought the toll to 35 dead.
To discover
LIVE - War in Ukraine: follow minute by minute the evolution of the conflict
Read alsoAn anti-Castro flotilla challenges Havana
The four bodies found are those of hotel employees, according to the Cuban state news agency ACN, which said at midday that
"12 or 13 people"
were still missing.
The search continued Monday at the end of the day, concentrating in the basements of the building, access complicated by the presence of rubble.
"It's a very dangerous stage because of the concentration of debris and the risk of collapse,"
Colonel Luis Carlos Guzman, fire chief, told state television.
The luxury hotel, emblematic of central Havana, had been closed for two years due to the pandemic and was preparing to reopen to the public on Tuesday, after renovations.
According to the Ministry of Tourism on Saturday, 51 employees were inside the building when the explosion occurred, apparently caused by a gas leak while the hotel was being supplied by a tanker truck.
The first four floors of the 5-star hotel were destroyed.
The Saratoga is known for hosting several celebrities in recent years, including Mick Jagger, Beyoncé and Madonna.
Built in 1880 to house shops, the building was transformed into a hotel in 1933 and became a luxury establishment in 2005.
Read alsoExplosion of a hotel in Cuba: 26 dead, provisional toll revised downwards
A collection of donations for the victims and aid for the rescuers has been launched.
