BOGOTA

The death toll from a gas explosion at a Cuban hotel has risen to 32, authorities said on Sunday.

Eighty people, including 10 in critical condition, were wounded and rescue operations were underway after the blast hit Saragota Hotel in the capital Havana, the Health Ministry said.

Nineteen people were still missing, according to local media, which reported that the explosion occurred when the gas flow resumed as part of hotel renovation work.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday said the explosion was not related to terrorism.

Built in 1880 and operating since 1933, the five-star Saratoga Hotel remained closed for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it was scheduled to reopen on May 10.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas