Havana [Cuba], May 7 (ANI/Sputnik): The death toll in the Saratoga hotel explosion in Havana on Friday increased to 9 and the number of injured people rose to 40, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Friday.

Earlier in the day, a powerful explosion destroyed the Saratoga hotel located in front of the National Capitol building in Cuba's Havana. According to preliminary information, the explosion was caused by a gas leak.

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"Currently, we know about nine dead and 40 injured. We express our deepest condolences and sincere assistance to the families and friends of the victims," Diaz-Canel said on Twitter.

The Cuban authorities said earlier in the day that eight people died and 30 were hospitalized as a result of the explosion.

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Cuban Communist Party's newspaper Granma reported that the exposition occurred in the hotel's kitchen and was caused by a gas leak. The blast destroyed the hotel's facade up to the fifth floor and damaged neighbouring buildings. Rescuers have to reinforce the building's backbones to prevent the hotel from collapsing and be able to move through rubble and look for those who survived.

Cuban Tourism Minister Juan Carlos Garcia Granda told journalists that the hotel was due to open on May 10, therefore it had not been checked in. (ANI/Sputnik)

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