Cuba continues rescue and lifesaving efforts at Saratoga hotel after fatal accident

HAVANA, Cuba, May 9 (ACN) Rescue and lifesaving work continues today at the Saratoga Hotel in Havana, where firefighters and rescuers are working to reach the basement, Javier Martinez Diaz, member of the provincial executive bureau of the Cuban communist party, told reporters.

According to the statements of relatives of the missing, it is estimated that there are around 12 or 13 people still trapped, the exact number will be known as the excavation progresses, he added.

The official also pointed out that they are still evaluating the conditions of the facility's infrastructure in order to access the pool.

At the same time, he continued, the Office of the Historian of the City and the Cultural Heritage Fund are surveying the damage to the Marti Theater, which is expected to be recovered by next September.

The affected families, from the houses near the hotel, are sheltered at Villa Panamericana (eastern Havana) or evacuated in the homes of relatives, Martinez Diaz concluded.