Collapse at Artex store in Jaruco

TheLa Conga store, a bazaar of the Cuban state company ARTex in Jaruco, Mayabeque, suffered thecollapse of part of the roof and façade, according to official sources.

Astation publicationRadio Jaruco revealed this Tuesday that the partial collapse occurred between Thursday, September 28 and Sunday, October 1, and according to the entity's management, "the store is in a process of complete collapse."

Photographs taken from outside the commercial establishment, located on Avenue 25 in the city of Jaruco, showhalf of the roof collapsed, as well as blocks and part of the façade cladding destroyed.

Judging by the images, the store already showed signs of deterioration and lack of maintenance on its faded façade, as well as its door and windows.

The general manager of the territorial branch of ARTex Mayabeque-Artemisa,Mariela Fúster Campos, told the radio station that, after the incident occurred, they went to the scene last Friday "to save all the merchandise: ARTex's own products and cooperation products and services with non-state forms of management."

The official did not mention whether there were any workers on site at the time of the incident.

“The firefighters went, they told us where we had to go, and all the merchandise was saved; There was no loss, nor were the fixed assets,” he assured.

The collapse forced the establishment to close “until further notice,” according to Fúster. "Today the store is in the process of complete collapse, and the pertinent steps will be taken to plan a long-term investment and be able to undertake the construction and repair of this premises, which due to its condition is not an easy task."

According to the directive, "alternatives are being sought in the town, other locations where perhaps a point of sale can be set up, but for the moment it will be closed."

Despite the days that have passed since the collapse,The rubble of the building still occupies the sidewalk and part of the avenue, as shown in the photos published by the state broadcaster.

The official assured that "they are taking steps to collect them in the shortest possible time, with the support of the Jaruco Administration Council, but they have not yet determined concrete actions," said Radio Jaruco, which promised its readers to follow up on the case. .

The landslides do not stop in Cuba, in a sample of thecrisis in the construction sector that reaches all provinces.

In Camagüey, the heavy rains last June caused25 total collapses and damage to a total of 140 homes. But months before,a polyclinic that occupies an old building in the historic center had to be closed in the face of the danger of it collapsing, and the emblematic Ambos Mundos hotel, also in the city center, began to be demolished in April.

Havana is one of the cities where the most collapses and damage to homes and buildings in general occur, due to theprecarious construction state of the buildings, to which the state does not carry out repairs or maintenance, and does not offer sufficient construction materials or at affordable prices, for the home owners to undertake.

In one of the most recent landslides, last month,a man lost his life. Fatal events like this are quite frequent, while the authorities use justifications and do not find effective solutions to the crisis in the construction sector.

Recently, a meeting of the Council of Ministers revealed that thehousing deficit in the country continues to be more than 800 thousand homes.