Several people were trapped this Wednesday following the total collapse of an abandoned building in the municipality of Remedios, Villa Clara, where emergency teams are conducting search and rescue operations.
The journalist Henry Omar Pérez, from the Agencia Cubana de Noticias, reported in a Facebook post that, in a preliminary assessment, it was estimated that about three people were inside the structure at the time of the collapse, although he cautioned that this number could change.
Firefighters from the Provincial Command and teams from the Red Cross were deployed to the site to begin rescue and salvage operations.
The Integrated Medical Emergency System (SIUM) was also activated, with the aim of providing immediate assistance to those affected once they are extracted from the building.
The territorial authorities, led by Susely Morfa González and Milaxy Yanet Sánchez Armás, visited the site to supervise the operations and coordinate the necessary resources.
In a post on X, Morfa confirmed that the collapse left several people trapped and indicated that, preliminarily, it was estimated that three individuals were inside the building at the time of the collapse.
So far, no details had been provided about the condition of the trapped individuals as emergency teams continued to work in the area.
The initial unofficial information that circulated on social media identified the building as the former Basic Secondary School in the Countryside (ESBEC) number 1, known as "La 1", located on the road to Rojas, in Remedios.
The Facebook page La Tijera stated that several people were inside the structure extracting rebar and other materials when the collapse occurred.
The publication mentioned possible injured and deceased under the rubble but clarified that the authorities had not yet confirmed those reports at that time.
In the Facebook group Rebolico Remedios, an anonymous post about the incident received a comment from the user George Delgado, who asserted that three people had become trapped.
According to his account, a man in another building heard calls for help and ran to notify the police, indicating that at least one person was still alive at that moment.
On its part, the page San Juan de los Remedios La Voz del Pueblo shared preliminary reports mentioning two bodies recovered and up to 14 people allegedly trapped.
The collapse in Remedios adds to a series of collapses recorded in Cuba, some related to the deterioration of abandoned buildings and others to the illegal extraction of construction materials.
At the end of July, for example, two men aged 28 and 43 were trapped after the total collapse of a building in the area of an old military unit in Colón, Matanzas.
The authorities attributed the collapse to an illegal demolition during which support columns and load-bearing beams were removed. Both were rescued alive and are out of danger.
Another abandoned property in Colón, the former cafeteria El Confite, experienced a partial roof collapse in May, with no injuries reported.
The danger of the construction had been included in the municipal risk reduction plan since 2021 and had been the subject of reports and warnings since 2023.
The collapses continue to affect properties in use or located in busy areas. In June, a structure collapsed on the Malecón in Havana, with no reports of casualties or injuries.
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