Desperate search for survivors in Cuba hotel explosion as death toll rises to at least 27

Tourism Minister Dalila González said a Cuban-American tourist was also injured.Search and rescue teams worked through the night and into Saturday, using ladders to descend through the rubble and twisted metal into the hotel's basement as heavy machinery gingerly moved away piles of the building's façade to allow access. Above, chunks of drywall dangled from wires, desks sat seemingly undisturbed inches from the void where the front of the building cleaved away.Rescuers declined to answer questions because authorities had ordered them to avoid confusion.Representatives of Grupo de Turismo Gaviota SA, which owns the hotel, said during a news conference Saturday that 51 workers were inside the hotel at the time of the explosion, as well as two people working on renovations. Those limited visits by U.S. tourists to the islands and restricted remittances from Cubans in the U.S. to their families in Cuba.Tourism had started to revive somewhat early this year, but the war in Ukraine deflated a boom of Russian visitors, who accounted for almost a third of the tourists arriving in Cuba last year.Dr. Julio Guerra Izquierdo, chief of hospital services at the Ministry of Health, said at least 74 people had been injured. Havana Gov. Reinaldo García Zapata said five of the students suffered minor injuries.The emblematic hotel had a stunning view of Cuba's center, including the domed Capitol building about 110 yards (100 meters) away.