Firefighters rescue a man who fell into the vent of a tunnel in Santiago de Cuba.

Cuban firefighters successfully rescued a man who fell into the vent of a tunnel in Santiago de Cuba, an event that was recorded by witnesses.

The accident occurred on Saturday afternoon near the Antonio Maceo polytechnic, known as Arts and Crafts.

The man, named David Cleger Romero, 38 years old, fell through a hole in an old shelter in the area.

"The teachers at the School of Arts and Trades heard the scream, which is why they called the firefighters," revealed to independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada a teacher who was on duty at the institution.

According to witnesses, the firefighters and rescue teams took a long time to arrive, despite being alerted early on.

Residents in the area claim that those holes are many meters deep and that it is a miracle they heard the young man's cries and were able to rescue him alive.

Cleger Romero was transferred to Saturnino Lora hospital, where doctors have said he will recover from his injuries.

Accidents like this occur with some frequency in Cuba, due to the deterioration of the infrastructure.

Last October, a 70-year-old man died after falling into an unprotected drainage hole in Camagüey, along the Central Highway.

The man left the El Hueco agricultural market and fell into the manhole while crossing the street. He was immediately admitted to the trauma services room of the provincial hospital, where he was diagnosed with fractures in the septum, the cervical spine, and the seventh vertebra.

His wife held the local authorities responsible for what happened, specifically the Communal Services Company, which she accused of "having an open drain in the street without protection."

In June, a soldier rescued a man who was trapped in a well and was about to die in the Mantua municipality, Pinar del Río.

The incident occurred in the coastal community of Arroyos de Mantua, where a local resident decided to descend into a 25-meter well to clean it, but the lack of oxygen caused him disorientation and loss of consciousness.

His companions above realized what was happening and alerted the authorities. He was saved thanks to a young man from the Border Guard Troops of the Ministry of the Interior who quickly descended, as he would have died if he had remained at the bottom of the well for five more minutes.

In Cuba, the lack of maintenance, the precarious conditions of buildings, and the poor state of the streets have led to countless incidents that reflect the serious structural crisis facing the country, a result of the negligence of the Cuban regime in recent decades.

One of the most recent examples is the collapse of a building in Old Havana in August, in which several neighbors were trapped.

The streets are not exempt from this problem either. In June 2024, a car and a motorcycle fell into a huge hole in El Cerro, Havana, during a sudden flood.

These events highlight the deep material crisis that Cuba faces, resulting from the lack of investment over the last 30 years. The Cuban regime has neglected fundamental areas for the well-being of its citizens, leading to overall deterioration.