Hotel Saratoga explosion location Hotel Saratoga, Havana
On May 6, 2022, Hotel Saratoga, a luxury hotel in the Old Havana municipality in the city of Havana, Cuba, suffered a suspected gas explosion that damaged large portions of the building as well as surrounding infrastructure. 47 people died and 52 were injured. The hotel was undergoing renovations and there were no guests; however, there were fifty-one workers inside.In the 1960s, following the Cuban Revolution, the hotel was nationalized by the new communist government and later became a low-class housing facility, before being closed due to its deplorable conditions.  In 1996, the building was transferred to a newly created joint venture company Hotel Saratoga S.A., co-owned by Habaguanex S.A., the commercial arm of the City Historian's Office, and an international confederation of investors. Part of the original building was then demolished, leaving only the façade on the three street fronts. The building was reconstructed with seven floors and two basement levels and was reopened in 2005.The hotel often hosted prominent international politicians and celebrities, but the country's vital tourism sector had been struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on both national and international travel. At the time, the building was undergoing renovations and populated entirely by workers, fifty-one of whom were inside at the time. The hotel was set to reopen on May 10, 2022.
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