Reinaldo Cosano Alén
HAVANA, June 2 – Investigators now say that the explosion of a two-story building last week in Havana was due to an accumulation of gas in an apartment in the upper story. The explosion left two dead, two seriously injured and an undeterminate number homeless.
Apparently, investigators say, a gas leak in the apartment resulted in an accumulation which was ignited by an electric spark when homeowner Elsa returned with her eight-year-old daughter and turned on the light. Elsa has since died as a result of burns she suffered and her daughter is in
serious condition.
Elsa’s mother, Noemí, was blasted out through the roof by the force of the explosion. Although she suffered bruises throughout her body, she is in stable condition.
An elderly woman passing by was killed by a steel grating torn from the building by the explosion. The grating came to rest against the building across the street.
A 24-year-old neighbor, Angelito, was repairing a wall in his apartment at the time of the explosion. He was injured by a nail in one eye. After going to three hospitals, sometimes by his own means because there were no ambulances available, he was operated at a fourth in San Miguel del Padrón
municipality of Havana.
The day after the explosion, firemen rescued a family that had been trapped in a neighboring building by a collapsed wall. Several others were left homeless as a result of damage in the vicinity. They are staying with neighbors or in hallways awaiting relief from the government.
Versión original en español
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