<p>A powerful explosion apparently caused by a gas leak blew away much of the outer walls from a five-star hotel in the heart of Cuba's capital on Friday and officials reported at least eight people had died.</p>.<p>But no tourists were lodged at the 96-room Hotel Saratoga because it was undergoing renovations, Havana Gov. Reinaldo García Zapata told the Communist Party newspaper Granma.</p>.<p>The early morning blast that devastated the 19th-century structure in Old Havana apparently was due to a gas leak, according to the Twitter account of the office of President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who went to the site.</p>.<p>It said at least eight people had been killed and that search and rescue efforts were underway for people possible trapped.</p>.<p>Granma said local officials reported 13 people missing and about 30 known injured. A school next door was evacuated and local news media said none of the children had been hurt.</p>.<p>Police cordoned off the area as firefighters and ambulance crews worked inside.</p>.<p>Photographer Michel Figueroa said he had been walking past the hotel when “the explosion threw me to the ground, and my head still hurts.... Everything was very fast.”</p>.<p>Yazira de la Caridad, mother of two, said the explosion shook her home a block from the hotel: “The whole building moved. I thought it was an earthquake,” she said. “I've still got my heart in my hand.”</p>.<p>Mayiee Perez said she had rushed to the scene 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 had been unable to reach him since. </p>
<p>A powerful explosion apparently caused by a gas leak blew away much of the outer walls from a five-star hotel in the heart of Cuba's capital on Friday and officials reported at least eight people had died.</p>.<p>But no tourists were lodged at the 96-room Hotel Saratoga because it was undergoing renovations, Havana Gov. Reinaldo García Zapata told the Communist Party newspaper Granma.</p>.<p>The early morning blast that devastated the 19th-century structure in Old Havana apparently was due to a gas leak, according to the Twitter account of the office of President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who went to the site.</p>.<p>It said at least eight people had been killed and that search and rescue efforts were underway for people possible trapped.</p>.<p>Granma said local officials reported 13 people missing and about 30 known injured. A school next door was evacuated and local news media said none of the children had been hurt.</p>.<p>Police cordoned off the area as firefighters and ambulance crews worked inside.</p>.<p>Photographer Michel Figueroa said he had been walking past the hotel when “the explosion threw me to the ground, and my head still hurts.... Everything was very fast.”</p>.<p>Yazira de la Caridad, mother of two, said the explosion shook her home a block from the hotel: “The whole building moved. I thought it was an earthquake,” she said. “I've still got my heart in my hand.”</p>.<p>Mayiee Perez said she had rushed to the scene 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 had been unable to reach him since. </p>