Almost a year after losing both arms in an electric accident, Osmani Hernández is still waiting for the Havana Electric Company to fulfill its only concrete promise: to complete the home he had started to build before his life changed forever.
The digital creator Alexander Ríos Cruz issued a public appeal for help this Saturday on behalf of the former lineman, alleging that the works remain unfinished and that "everything has remained in words."
Osmani, aged 36, was working for the Electric Company of Havana when on September 12, 2025, he suffered an electric shock while repairing a malfunction on Pepe Prieto Street, in the Havana municipality of San Miguel del Padrón.
The contact with a fallen conductor caused severe and irreversible burns on both arms, resulting in the amputation of both limbs.
What followed the accident further worsened the situation. According to witnesses, it was neighbors—not firefighters or specialized personnel—who brought Osmani down from the pole where he was hanging and transported him in a private vehicle to the Miguel Enríquez Hospital after the accident.
From his hospital bed, the worker sent a calm message to his family: "I have willpower... I know that at least I'm going to lose my arms, but I will keep my life."
The electric company publicly responded, assuring that Osmani "has everything he needs" for his recovery. However, his ex-partner, Gretel Aparicio, contradicted this official version by reporting that the family had to turn to community support to obtain bandages and basic medications.
In November 2025, Osmani publicly reappeared with a smile despite having lost both of his arms, generating a wave of solidarity that dubbed him "the champion of life."
But solidarity has not been enough to resolve their material situation. His wife was forced to leave her job to care for him full-time, and the couple has two small children. The housing that the company promised to complete remains unfinished.
The case of Osmani is not an isolated incident. A report from El Toque documented that Cuban linemen work with deteriorated equipment: gloves, helmets, harnesses, and ladders in poor condition, as well as vehicles with mechanical failures.
In 2025, the Electricity, Gas, and Water sector recorded five fatalities due to workplace accidents, within a national total of 38 dead and 701 injured, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information.
Additionally, it was reported that Osmani had requested leave from work multiple times in the three months leading up to the accident, but the company denied his requests, citing a shortage of staff, and kept him in a high-risk position.
Ríos Cruz published Osmani's phone number —+5351184322— so that those who wish to help can contact him directly. "Any support, no matter how small it may seem, can mean a great deal to this family," he wrote.
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