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The death toll from an accidental gas leak that destroyed a luxury Saratoga hotel in Havana on Friday has risen to 40, Cuban officials said on Monday.
On Monday afternoon, 54 people were injured in the blast, 18 of whom are still in hospital.
The death toll rose to 35 on Monday morning after four bodies of hotel staff were found, the health ministry said.
According to the official Cuban news agency, “12 or 13 people are still missing.”
Surveillance activities are concentrated in the basement of the building.
The explosion was caused by a gas leak while supplying a tanker truck to the hotel, and four of the building’s five floors collapsed.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, 51 employees were inside the hotel when the explosion occurred.
The hotel is undergoing renovations in preparation for reopening on May 10, two years after it was closed due to the Govt epidemic.
The building was built with shops in 1880 and was converted into a hotel in 1933 and later into a luxury hotel in 2005.
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