由安德里亚·罗德里格斯（AndreaRodríguez）美联社
哈瓦那（AP） - 一场强大的爆炸显然是由天然气泄漏造成的，包括儿童在内的至少22人，周五受伤了数十人，当它从古巴首都中心的一家豪华酒店吹走外墙。
No tourists were staying at Havana’s 96-room Hotel Saratoga because it was undergoing renovations, Havana Gov. Reinaldo García Zapata told the Communist Party newspaper Granma.
“这不是炸弹或攻击。这是一次悲惨的事故。
卫生部医院服务总监Julio Guerra Izquierdo博士告诉记者，至少有74人受伤。根据Díaz-Canel办公室的一条推文，其中有14个孩子。
Díaz-Canel说，受爆炸影响的酒店附近建筑物的家庭已转移到更安全的地点。
古巴国家电视台报道说，爆炸是由一辆为酒店提供天然气的卡车引起的，但没有提供有关气体点燃方式的细节。当救援人员用水将其压倒时，发现一辆白色油轮卡车被从现场移走。
旅游部长胡安·卡洛斯·加西亚（JuanCarlosgarcía）表示，该酒店定于周二重新开放。
The blast sent smoke billowing into the air around the hotel with people on the street staring in awe, one saying “Oh my God,” and cars honking their horns as they sped away from the scene, video showed. It happened as Cuba is struggling to revive its key tourism sector that was devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
古巴的国家卫生部长何塞·昂格尔（Joséángel）门户告诉美联社，受伤的人数可能会增加，因为搜索可能仍在搜寻可能被困在该市老哈瓦那社区的19世纪瓦砾中的人们。
“We are still looking for a large group of people who may be under the rubble,” Lt. Col. Noel Silva of the Fire Department said.
酒店旁边的一所300名学生学校被撤离。加西亚·扎帕塔（GarcíaZapata）说，其中五名学生受到轻伤。
当消防员和救援人员在距离古巴国会大厦大楼约110码（100米）的象征性酒店的残骸中劳作时，警方封锁了该地区。
The hotel was first renovated in 2005 as part of the Cuban government’s revival of Old Havana and is owned by the Cuban military’s tourism business arm, Grupo de Turismo Gaviota SA. The company said it was investigating the cause of the blast and did not immediately respond to an email seeking more details about the hotel and the renovation it was undergoing.
萨拉托加酒店（Hotel Saratoga）经常通过访问VIP和政治人物（包括美国政府高级代表团）使用。碧昂斯（Beyoncé）和杰伊（Jay-Z）在2013年访问古巴期间呆在那里。
Photographer Michel Figueroa said he was walking past the hotel when “the explosion threw me to the ground, and my head still hurts…. Everything was very fast.”
Worried relatives of people who had been working at the hotel showed up at a hospital in the afternoon to look for them. Among them was Beatriz Céspedes Cobas, who was tearfully searching for her sister.
“她今天必须工作。她是管家，”她说。“我工作了两个街区。我感觉到了噪音，起初，我什至没有将爆炸与酒店联系在一起。
Yazira de la Caridad said the explosion shook her home a block from the hotel: “The whole building moved. I thought it was an earthquake.”
除了大流行对古巴旅游部门的影响外，该国已经在美国前美国总统唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）实施的制裁中挣扎，后者一直持有拜登政府。美国游客对这些岛屿的制裁限制了访问，并将美国的古巴人汇到了古巴的家人。
Tourism had started to revive somewhat early this year, but the war in Ukraine crimped a boom of Russian visitors, who accounted for almost a third of the tourists arriving in Cuba last year.
The explosion happened as Cuba’s government hosted the final day of a tourism convention in the iconic beach town of Varadero aimed at drawing investors.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is scheduled to arrive in Havana for a visit late Saturday and Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the visit would still take place.
García Zapata said structures adjacent to the hotel were being evaluated, including two badly damaged apartment buildings. The neighboring Martí Theater, the Yoruba Association and the Capitol had broken glass and damaged masonry.
Mayiee Pérez said she rushed to the hotel after receiving a call from her husband, Daniel Serra, who works at a foreign exchange shop inside the hotel.
She said he told her: “I am fine, I am fine. They got us out.” But she was unable to reach him after that.
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