Building collapse in Havana kills at least one, others trapped

HAVANA (Reuters) – The municipal government of Havana announced that a building in the Cuban capital collapsed on Tuesday night, resulting in the death of one person and leaving two others trapped under the debris.

The collapse occurred in the Old Havana tourist district, causing significant damage to the interior of the dilapidated building. The structure housed 13 families and a total of 54 individuals. The incident caused terraces to be ripped off the facade and trapped numerous people under piles of rubble and steel bars.

Rescue workers labored throughout the morning on Wednesday to locate and rescue the two individuals who remained trapped after a second partial collapse occurred earlier due to strong winds and heavy rain that battered the city.

As per a statement released by the municipal government, one person lost their life in the tragic event, while two others were taken to the hospital in critical condition.

This building collapse is the latest in a string of calamities that have plagued crisis-stricken Cuba. These include a gas explosion in 2022 that demolished Havana’s Saratoga Hotel and a massive fire at a tank farm in Matanzas, located an hour east of the capital, a few months later.

Cuba, a communist nation grappling with economic turmoil, U.S. sanctions, and a struggling tourism sector, has admitted its inability to keep up with repairs and new construction, leaving its citizens in hazardous and deteriorating dwellings.

In September, Construction Minister Rene Mesa Villafaña stated that over 850,000 residential structures in Cuba were in dire need of maintenance and renovation. The government has been working towards constructing new, more suitable housing options.

Reporting by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Angus MacSwan