HAVANA (AP) — A powerful explosion has badly damaged a hotel in the Cuban capital and officials report at least eight people have died.
The office of Cuba’s president said in a tweet that Friday’s blast at the five-star Hotel Saratoga in Old Havana apparently was due to a gas leak.
Local officials said 13 people are missing and rescue efforts are underway for people possibly trapped. But the Havana governor said the 96-room hotel was being renovated and no tourists were lodged there.
Photos show much of the outer wall blown away, with clouds of dust billowing into the sky. A school next door had been evacuated.