14ymedio, Havana, 11 July 2017 — The collapse of a wall during the reconstruction of the Hotel Commercio in Caibarién, in the province of Villa Clara, cost two workers their lives on Tuesday and left eight others injured. The crew was working on rehabilitating the property, as confirmed to 14ymedio by a resident who lives nearby.
The work accident occurred when a wall collapsed which caused a part of the second floor of the build to collapse, the local press reported.
The deceased are Dorian Toledo Pascual, 40, and Felix Morales Dominguez, 28, both residents of Caibarién. According to statements by the authorities, both were buried under the hotel debris. The builder Richard López Pérez is in critical condition and Andrés Estévez Báez, is in serious condition.
The less serious injured are at Caibarién Hospital, where all the injured received first aid, 14ymedio confirmed by telephone.
After the accident, several fire rescue crews deployed to search through the debris, where they found the workers trapped in the rubble, but two of them were found dead.
For years, the Hotel Comercio has experienced a long process of deterioration. The current rehabilitation work is intended to allow it to to reopen its doors at the end of 2018.