Cuba: At least 8 people dead in Havana hotel explosion
A powerful explosion severely damaged a hotel in the Cuban capital on Friday and officials announced the deaths of at least eight people.
According to the Twitter account of the office of President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who visited the site.
It said at least eight people were killed and search and rescue efforts were underway for those possibly trapped.
Photos showed a large section of the hotel's exterior wall blown away, exposing interior rooms, with clouds of dust rising into the sky.
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A nearby school had been evacuated.
Police cordoned off the area while firefighters and paramedics worked inside.
Photographer Michel Figueroa said he was walking past the hotel when “the explosion knocked me to the ground and I still have a headache… Everything happened very quickly.”
Yazira de la Caridad, a mother of two, said the explosion shook her house a block from the hotel: "The whole building moved. I thought it was an earthquake," she said. “I always have my heart in my hand.”
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Mayiee Pérez said she rushed to the scene after receiving a call from her husband, Daniel Serra, who works at a currency exchange inside the hotel. She said he told her, “I’m fine, I’m fine.” They took us out,” but that he had not been able to contact him since.
The 96-room five-star hotel in Old Havana has two bars, two restaurants and a rooftop pool, according to its website.
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