{"id":252823,"date":"2022-05-13T17:16:48","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T21:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=252823"},"modified":"2022-05-13T17:26:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T21:26:55","slug":"in-front-of-the-saratoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/in-front-of-the-saratoga\/","title":{"rendered":"In front of the Saratoga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Observing the remains of the <\/span>Saratoga Hotel<\/span><\/a> and its adjoining buildings is overwhelming. More than 100 hours after the explosion, even though part of the rubble had already been removed and the lifeless bodies of more than 40 victims had been recovered, the view of the collapsed buildings, of the cracked or missing walls, turned into a ruinous mess, in stones and dust, by the fierce bite of the shock wave.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking closely at the scene of the explosion, at least as close as the authorities allow the press for safety reasons \u2014 behind the last of the several yellow tapes that surround the area \u2014, squeezes all emotions into a fist: shock, astonishment, anguish, pain.\u2026 It is hard to imagine the terrible dimensions of an event capable of causing so much destruction, so much sadness; of knocking down walls and ending so many lives in just a second, and, at the same time, it is impressive to see, from a distance, among the ruins and the work that is being done there, doors and stairs, furniture and mirrors, apparently intact, as if what happened there was something alien, distant, macabre news from another place and not from right there, or right next door, where a closet still protects some belongings, in the midst of the destruction that surrounds it.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the surrounding area, at the same time, activity and expectation have reigned for days. Teams of rescuers entering and leaving the scene of the accident, excavators and trucks removing debris, military chiefs and authorities constantly touring the site, ambulances and other vehicles parked in the area, including the mobile command post, from where the operations were directed.<\/p>\n

It was just a few meters from there that Colonel Luis Carlos Guzman, head of the Cuban Fire Brigade, confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that the forces under his command had had access to all the hotel premises, where they were still “digging deep”, and that the search and rescue work was continuing as the only “priority” and for as long as necessary until all the missing were found. This Thursday (12), with the rescue of all the victims reported missing, the search was finally concluded.<\/p>\n