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A person lost their life on Friday afternoon at the Malecón de La Habana in an accident that shocked the local residents.
His body was recovered by firefighters and specialized personnel, as confirmed by the administrator of the Facebook group "Wonderful Malecón", Carlos Espinosa Betancourt, who described the event as a "day of mourning."
The incident occurred around 6:42 PM on July 10, in the section of the Malecón near the start of Paseo Street, a spot that locals describe as historically dangerous.
Espinosa Betancourt explicitly ruled out that the victim was bathing for recreation— a common cause of similar tragedies in the summer— and also dismissed the possibility that it was a case of suicide, confirming that it was an accident.
What is circulating among neighbors in the comments on the post suggests a version that, if confirmed, turns the tragedy into a brutal symbol of the crisis Cuba is experiencing: the victim reportedly went to the sea to collect saltwater for domestic use after going more than seven days without supply at home.
"He passed away because he went to fetch water to clean. He is someone known to us, works at the Calixto, and is an older person who lives with his sick mother; he had been without water for over 7 days," wrote Alejandro Llanes Ortega in the comments.
Another neighbor, Margarita Acevedo, agreed: "No, she went out to get water; she hadn't been home for 7 days, they say she lived with her mother at 1st and C."
Several comments identify the victim as a worker from Hospital Calixto García who was taking care of his bedridden mother. "A good human being who has passed away. He was taking care of his mother who is bedridden," wrote Daisy Ortega. These accounts have not been officially confirmed.
In response to the question of why someone would collect seawater, another user explained bluntly: "It serves to clean or for the toilet when there's none available."
The incident occurred on the same day that Cuba experienced its fourth total blackout of the year, which began at 4:30 PM. Eighty-seven percent of the water supply system in Havana relies on electricity for pumping, so prolonged outages—lasting up to 22 and 30 hours a day—leave homes without water for days or weeks. According to recent data, more than half a million residents of Havana are suffering from the water crisis in July 2026.
Neither the Cuban state media nor the authorities have issued any statement regarding the death.
El Malecón has a long history of tragedies. In November 2022, a child drowned in its waters and another was rescued alive. In March 2025, 16-year-old Carlos Javier Sánchez was swept away by the waves near La Punta, and his body was found the next day. In October 2025, firefighters rescued another person who had fallen into the sea in the same seaside promenade.
Roberto A. Paneque Fonseca, a local resident, summarized it in the comments: "This little stretch of the promenade at the beginning of Paseo street is very dangerous, and it always has been."
Lázara Madelin Herrera Rivera closed with a phrase that many shared: "Unfortunately, this is not the first time it has happened, and I don't believe it will be the last."
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