MIAMI, United States. – This Thursday afternoon, the remains of the last person reported missing after the May 6th explosion at the Saratoga Hotel were found in the rubble. With this casualty, the number of fatalities increases to 45 as a result of the explosion, according to Cubadebate.
“The body of the last person reported missing has been found. In the afternoon of May 112th, the body of the last person reported missing as a result of the accident at the Saratoga Hotel was found. It’s apparently the body of the hotel’s chambermaid. That makes 45 the number of casualties as a result of the accident. Search and rescue operations have been going on non-stop since May 6th, the day of the tragic event,” according to an official Cubadebate statement on its Facebook profile.
The news was confirmed, also, by Cuban television newscaster Lázaro Manuel Alonso. He wrote on his Facebook page this Thursday: “the remains of another casualty are found in the Saratoga rubble.”
Official figures
According to the most recent release from the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP, by its Spanish acronym), made public at 11:30 am on May 12th, 98 individuals were injured in the accident at the Saratoga Hotel, 16 of them remain hospitalized, 38 were discharged, and 44 died. To the 44 we must add the last fatality found in the rubble in the afternoon.
If confirmed that the last body rescued from the rubble is that of a hotel worker who was still missing, then the total number of hotel employees who died in the explosion would be 25.
According to Cuban authorities, the accident at the Saratoga Hotel was caused by a liquid gas leak. Alexis Acosta Silva, mayor of La Habana Vieja, stated shortly after the tragedy that a liquid gas tank in the hotel was being filled. The hotel cook had smelled gas, checked the connections and discovered that there was a fissure in the supply hose.
Among the victims there are four children, a pregnant woman and a Spanish tourist.
Recibe la información de CubaNet en tu celular a través de WhatsApp. Envíanos un mensaje con la palabra “CUBA” al teléfono +1 (786) 316-2072, también puedes suscribirte a nuestro boletín electrónico dando click aquí.