Grim search in blown-out Havana hotel, death toll at 26

FILE PHOTO: Members of the emergecy services walk near the Hotel Saratoga after an explosion in the building, in Havana, Cuba May 6, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban rescue workers on Saturday picked through rubble for bodies and possible survivors after a Havana boutique hotel was devastated by what authorities said was a gas explosion, leaving at least 26 dead.

The blast at the Hotel Saratoga, just a block from the iconic capitol building in a renovated area of downtown Havana, seriously damaged two adjoining upscale apartment buildings and inflicted lighter damage to 17 structures within a two-block radius. Debris fell on pedestrians in the heavily traveled area and glass and debris went flying at a nearby grammar school.