Two firefighters died in the partial collapse of a residential building in Havana’s famous Old Town. The two rescue workers – a 40-year-old and a 23-year-old – were surprised by a second one after a first partial collapse during the night and were buried under the rubble, as the Cuban Interior Ministry announced.
A possible further victim is being searched for. It was not initially known why the obviously dilapidated house had partially collapsed, but it had been raining heavily. According to government information, 13 families with a total of 54 people lived in the three-story building.
Many houses and other parts of the infrastructure in Cuba are in poor condition because they have not been maintained or only been maintained in a makeshift manner for decades. According to official information, a man died last Thursday when an apartment ceiling collapsed in the center of Havana, the capital of the socialist Caribbean state.
The trade embargo that has existed for more than 60 years and other US sanctions are making it difficult for Cuba to procure materials. Added to this is the inefficient economy under the rule of the Communist Party.
