The explosion of an electric motorcycle on the afternoon of this Friday at the boulevard of San Rafael, in Centro Habana, triggered a fire that consumed a total of two scooters and destroyed the facade of the watch repair shop across from where they were parked.
The fire quickly spread in one of the busiest and most commercial areas of Havana, surrounded by shops, a hostel, a bar, and other businesses.
"The flames and a thick column of smoke caught the attention of dozens of people who were present at the scene," according to the incident report.
The images first showed a thick column of black smoke rising above the buildings on the boulevard, while bystanders recorded the scene with their mobile phones.
The motorcycles were parked between two shops, right in front of the watch repair store, at the entrance of a hostel, and next to a bar, in the heart of the pedestrian walkway.
Members of the Fire Department responded to the scene shortly afterward to control the fire and prevent the flames from spreading to nearby establishments.
The incident raised alarm among workers, customers, and passersby due to the proximity of the fire to nearby businesses.
The incident is part of a growing pattern of explosions and fires involving electric motorcycles throughout Cuba. On May 18, an electric motorcycle exploded in the yard of a house in Banes, Holguín, with no injuries reported but the vehicle completely destroyed.
On May 9, a scooter caught fire in Havana while it was charging after a nighttime power outage.
On March 21, a motorbike caught fire inside a home in the Sueño neighborhood in Santiago de Cuba, causing significant property damage, although there were no casualties.
In Villa Clara, the Fire Department recorded 32 fires caused by electric motorcycles between January and October 2025, with estimated losses of 95 million Cuban pesos.
The most serious case at the national level occurred in Camagüey on July 30, 2025, when the explosion of motorcycle batteries during a blackout resulted in at least four fatalities and three injuries.
Scooters have become the primary alternative mode of transportation for thousands of Cubans due to the chronic fuel shortage and the collapse of public transport, which has greatly increased their presence on the streets and in public spaces.
The electrical crisis facing Cuba, characterized by significant deficits and power outages exceeding 24 continuous hours in some areas, significantly exacerbates these risks: sudden reconnections to the power supply create voltage fluctuations that cause overloads in lithium batteries, triggering thermal runaway phenomena that lead to fires that are difficult to control.
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