According to the manager of the group for the western region of Cuba, the hotel is not open to the public and is preparing to open on May 10.
Roberto Enriquez Calzadlilla told a news conference that 11 of the 51 workers in the building had died and 13 were still missing, with a large number of injuries, and only six had been admitted to hospital.
So far, and according to official sources, the death toll has been revised downwards, with at least 26 people killed in an incident at a tourist center in old Havana.
Enriquez Calzadlilla described the blast as an “unfortunate accident” and stressed that the hotel follows “all the rules and regulations established by the Gaivota team”.
The Cuban government says the explosion was caused by a gas leak. The Commission of Inquiry has already begun its investigation.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Connell called it a “tragic accident” and ruled out the possibility of a “bomb” or attack.
The blast, which occurred early Friday morning, shattered part of a seven-story building and the facade of the first three floors, leaving tons of debris on the sidewalk.
Located in a neoclassical building in the historic center of Havana built in 1880, the Saratoga Hotel has been in operation since 1991 and was last restored in 2005, according to official Cuban media.
The five-star hotel, which has been closed to tourists for two years, is set to reopen, scheduled for Tuesday.
Saratoga is located in the historic center of the Cuban capital, Pascio del Prado, one of the main thoroughfares of old Havana.
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