Havana hotel explosion leaves at least 22 people dead

May 6 (UPI) -- An explosion at a historic hotel in Havana has left at least 22 people dead, including a pregnant woman and a child, the office of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday night.

The Cuban Presidential Office said in a statement to Twitter that at least 50 adults had been hospitalized as well as 14 children.

Diaz-Canel visited the site of the explosion and a local hospital where the victims had been taken, video posted to social media shows.

"Here, the first thing we are focused on as attention to people," Diaz-Canel said in a press conference. "We are faced with an unfortunate fact on which a group of investigations are still being carried out."

Diaz-Canel said that the workers are still assessing the state of the hotel structure and surrounding buildings as well as what caused the explosion.

The Cuban Presidential Office said a gas leak might be to blame for the blast, which destroyed the Hotel Saratoga. The explosion also damaged vehicles outside the building.

"Preliminary investigations indicate that the explosion was caused by a gas leak," the office said in a tweet.

Officials said earlier in the day that they were searching the rubble from the building for 13 people believed to be missing.

The Hotel Saratoga was built in 1880 as a warehouse and was converted in 1933 to a hotel. It includes 96 hotel rooms, two bars, two restaurants and a spa.

The presidential office said a nearby school was evacuated. Children of the school that suffered damage will be relocated to other schools nearby to attend class Monday.