A Girl and her Mother Die After a Building Collapse in Havana

A large number of people crowded around while rescue work was underway on Sunday. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 5 November 2019 — A 13-year-old girl and her mother died after the collapse of a housing unit located in the garage of the remains of a house on 21st Street, between 30th and 34th, in Havana’s Playa District.

Neighbors in the area told 14ymedio that the building collapsed at around 10 p.m. Sunday, burying three people, the two who died and the girl’s grandmother. The grandmother is now hospitalized in serious condition because of the injuries she suffered.

A large number of people crowded nearby while rescue work was underway on Sunday, alerted by the coming and going of ambulances, fire trucks and even the deployment of a crane to lift the debris. “Immediately three ambulances and a rescue and life-saving car arrived. The grandmother was first one pulled out and they took her to the hospital. Then, at about twelve o’clock, they brought out the girl and finally the mother,” says a neighbor.

On Monday a police operation controlled access to the scene during the cleanup work carried out by several trucks.

“That house had been so bad for many years, it was a matter of time for a tragedy like this to happen,” laments the woman, who identified the victims as Yanet, Isabel and Amparo (mother, daughter and grandmother, respectively).

According to official data, of the total of existing properties currently in the capital, almost 40% are in poor or bad condition and at least 500 are in critical condition.

______________

The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. You can help crowdfund a current project to develop an in depth multimedia report on dengue fever in Cuba; the goal is modest, only $2,000. Even small donations by a lot of people will add up fast. Thank you!