Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel “deeply” regretted this Wednesday the death of three girls as a result of the collapse of a building’s balcony in the neighborhood of Jesús María, in Old Havana.
“Collapse in Old Havana causes death of three girls. We deeply regret what happened. Our heartfelt condolences to the families,” Díaz-Canel wrote on his Twitter account, in a message in which he linked the information of the accident published in the daily Granma, more than a day after the incident.
Derrumbe en La Habana Vieja ocasiona la muerte de tres niñas. Lamentamos sentidamente lo ocurrido. Nuestro acompañamiento a las familias. https://t.co/P1TvHBhmv2 Via @Granma_Digital
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) January 29, 2020
The accident occurred on the afternoon of this Monday, January 27. The girls, aged 11 and 12, were under the structure, which collapsed causing the death of one of them on the spot, while the other two died shortly after arriving at the hospital, as witnesses of the event confirmed to the Spanish EFE news agency.
The neighbors also revealed that the second floor of the house, whose wall and balcony collapsed causing the tragedy, was already being demolished and its occupants had been evicted about three months ago.
“They were rehearsing in the park to parade in a ceremony for (the anniversary of the birth of) José Martí. One bought an ice cream in the corner and the three of them sat there, and the whole wall fell on them,” Esther, a neighbor on the same street who claimed to have witnessed the events, told EFE.
A few hours after the collapse, the traditional March of the Torches took place in Havana, in homage to Martí, Cuba’s National Hero, in which Cuban students paraded and in which the president participated with former President Raúl Castro and other leaders of the island. At that time, the official press had given the news, although it was already beginning to circulate in the independent media and social networks.
After what happened was reported on more widely this Tuesday, even in the official Cuban media, diverse net surfers regretted in the networks that none of the island’s authorities, including Díaz-Canel, had referred directly to the accident and had offered condolences to the families of the three deceased girls, something the president did this Wednesday.
His tweet has provoked numerous reactions and comments, ranging from those who support the president’s words and add to his condolences, to those who criticized his delay in talking about the deaths and referred to the constructive problems of many buildings in Havana while the government promotes a broad investment program in the tourism sector.
The collapse of buildings’ roofs and walls are not uncommon in the Cuban capital, mainly in municipalities such as Old Havana and Centro Habana, where there are many houses and buildings in poor condition, which in some cases has forced the evacuation of its residents, while others have refused to leave even at risk to their lives.
