Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
National

Body of last missing person recovered after explosion at Cuba's Hotel Saratoga, raising death toll to 45

The family of missing woman Shaidis Cobas, a waitress at the Hotel Saratoga, wait for news near the site of the deadly explosion.  (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

The body of a waitress who is believed to be the final victim of a deadly explosion at a Cuban hotel has been pulled from the rubble of the destroyed building.

About 80 per cent of Havana's Hotel Saratoga was destroyed after a gas leak caused a massive explosion last Friday.

Luis Carlos Guzman, the chief of Cuba's firefighting corps, told reporters at the site of the blast that the woman whose body had been recovered, believed to be a waitress at the hotel, was "as of now, the last missing person."

The death toll now stands at 45, with more than 80 people injured.

The aftermath of the explosion at Havana's Hotel Saratoga.

A Spanish tourist, a pregnant woman and four children from a nearby school were among the dead.

The century-old five-star hotel had been due to reopen on Monday after a two-year closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two adjoining apartment buildings were seriously damaged in the blast and 17 structures within a two-block radius suffered lighter damage.

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel has declared a national mourning period in honour of those who died.

Reuters/ABC

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.