HAVANA, Cuba, May 8 (ACN) The search for possible survivors in the basement of the Saratoga Hotel in the Cuban capital continues uninterruptedly by joint forces, since an accidental explosion occurred in that tourist facility in Old Havana on May 6.
Alexis Acosta, intendant of Old Havana explained in an interview to national television the complexity of the actions being undertaken there, due to the high volume of debris in the whole area of the hotel, after the impact of the explosion, which caused the collapse of the structures of the second, third and fourth floors.
He pointed out that during the early hours of Sunday morning the rescuers were able to reach the administrative offices and the warehouse.
This Saturday, Colonel Luis Carlos Guzmán, head of the Fire Department, explained to Prensa Latina that they have the necessary human and material resources to undertake the work required in this type of disaster, but care must be taken as there are flooded areas.
The basements of the building have several cubic meters of debris, for which reason the collegiate evaluation of the type of means to be used to extract them without affecting any of the structures and avoid an accident must take precedence, he pointed out.
He emphasized that progress is being made, it is an engineering work that requires a lot of science (…) and it forces us to be careful with the personnel, he added.
He also made reference to the means used, among them drones, K-9 techniques and other special equipment. “Thanks to that we have not had to regret any accident,” he said.
Last Friday, the Saratoga Hotel suffered the effects of a strong explosion when a tanker truck with liquefied gas was serving its facilities, after which the front and side facades of the second floors of the building were demolished, as well as several damages to other adjacent buildings.
As of today, 30 deaths had been confirmed, and it is not ruled out the possibility that under the rubble, which is being carefully moved today in the basement of the Saratoga, the bodies of other people who are still missing may be found.