Havana hotel death toll at 31 as dogs search for survivors

The death toll of a powerful explosion at a luxury hotel in Cuba’s capital increased to 31 as search crews with dogs continued looking for people still missing (Ramon Espinosa/AP)

The death toll of a powerful explosion at a luxury hotel in Cuba’s capital increased to 31 as search crews with dogs continued looking for people still missing.

The Hotel Saratoga, a five-star 96-room hotel in Old Havana, was preparing to reopen after being closed for two years when an apparent gas leak ignited, blowing the outer walls into the busy, midmorning streets just a block from the country’s Capitol building on Friday.