HAVANA - Rescuers in Cuba’s capital searched Saturday to find survivors of an explosion that killed at least 25 people and devastated a luxury hotel that once hosted dignitaries and celebrities, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z.A natural gas leak was the apparent cause of Friday’s blast at Havana’s 96-room Hotel Saratoga.
The 19th-century structure in the city’s Old Havana neighborhood did not have any guests at the time because it was undergoing renovations ahead of a planned Tuesday reopening after being closed.The death toll rose to 25 Saturday, according to Orestes Llánez, coordinator of the Havana city government, according to the official Cubadebate news site.
He said 22 had been identified, 18 residents of the capital and four from elsewhere in Cuba.He said searchers has managed to reach the hotel's basement in the hunt for possible survivors.At least one survivor was found early Saturday in the shattered ruins of the hotel, and rescuers using search dogs clambered over huge chunks of concrete looking for more.
Relatives of missing people remained at the site overnight. Others gathered at hospitals where the injured were being treated.HAVANA, CUBA - MAY 6: Several people search for missing victims in the ruins of the Saratoga hotel, recently destroyed by an explosion May 6, 2022, in Havana, Cuba. (Photo by Yander Zamora/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) "I don’t want to move from here," Cristina Avellar told The Associated Press near the hotel, whose outer walls were blown away by the explosion, leaving the interiors of many rooms exposed.Avellar was waiting for news of Odalys Barrera, a 57-year-old cashier who has worked at the hotel for five years.