Update: Death Toll Rises at Havana’s Saratoga Hotel, Cuba

The death toll from the explosion at Cuba's Saratoga hotel rose to 27 on Saturday, Orestes Llánez, coordinator of the Havana government, informed the local press media.

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According to this report, rescue work continues at the disaster site in search of survivors, while work continues to remove debris.

Within the framework of the rescue work, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel highlighted the work of the rescue and salvage forces at the Saratoga Hotel in Cuba, after the accident that caused the partial collapse of the facility on Friday.

The explosion occurred at 10:50 local time (14:50 GMT) and was caused by an accident in the transfer of liquefied gas from a truck to the hotel, according to government information.

In another message, Díaz-Canel regretted what happened, as well as the destruction, loss of lives and people injured in the accident, "but once again I want to highlight the speed with which the population and the institutions mobilized. Solidarity has prevailed".

The day before, the official report indicated that after the explosion 64 people were injured, with 50 adults (18 serious and critical) and 14 minors (three critical and two serious).

For his part, Orestes Llánez detailed that during the early hours of the morning the rescue forces were able to access the basement of the facility and there they are looking for possible survivors.

Orste Llánez highlighted the coordinated work between agencies of the province, belonging to the Ministries of Construction, Interior, Firefighters and Public Health.

In addition, he said, in the last hours the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in the capital, Luis Antonio Torres, together with other officials pointed out the attention to the relatives of the victims and the group of actions that will give continuity to the work at the site of the accident.

According to the governor of Havana, Reinaldo García, all hospitals in the province were mobilized and several health institutions received thousands of people who came to donate blood.

Likewise, the governor of Havana, Reinaldo García Zapata, affirmed that the hotel was in the process of being repaired, so there were no tourists in the building.

Later, García informed that they made a survey of the infrastructure affected by the explosion, which included the hotel, as well as 23 nearby buildings, including 17 residential buildings.