State-run media in Cuba claimed that the death toll from an explosion at one of Havana's most luxury hotels rose to 26 on Saturday as rescuers kept searching for possible survivors in the partially collapsed Hotel Saratoga.

A natural gas leak reportedly caused Friday afternoon's explosion at the 96-room hotel. However, Cuba's Tourism Minister Dalila González stated Saturday that the cause of the incident was still under investigation.

The 19th-century building in the Old Havana district was undergoing renovations in preparation for its reopening on Tuesday.

Representatives of Grupo de Turismo Gaviota SA, the hotel's owner, stated during a news conference on Saturday that 51 employees and two renovation workers were inside the hotel at the explosion. 11 were killed, 13 were still missing, and six were hospitalized.

The Cuban health ministry acknowledged that the explosion resulted in 80 injuries, including around 15 children. Saturday, 46 victims remained hospitalized.

Saturday afternoon, official Cuban television revealed the names of all death victims. According to Cuban authorities, the deceased include four youngsters, a lady who was pregnant, and at least one visitor from Spain.

The explosion also damaged 23 neighboring structures, including a building adjacent to the hotel in which 15 apartments were utterly demolished.

At least one survivor was discovered in the rubble early Saturday morning.

Families of those still missing have been urgently combing morgues and hospitals for their loved ones. If unsuccessful, they congregate outside the collapsed hotel, where rescuers and search dogs continue to scramble over massive concrete slabs in search of other survivors.

Yatmara Cobas, the mother of a 27-year-old housekeeper, waited outside the perimeter of the rescue operation for news of her daughter, Shaidis Cobas. The latter had been inside Hotel Saratoga since Friday morning.

Cobas stated, "I do not know anything about her." "She is neither in the morgue nor the hospital."

Teams are still working to construct a safe route to the hotel's basement, where they believe people are believed to be trapped.

Lieutenant Colonel Enrique Pea stated that police do not know if the victims are alive or dead.

In a series of tweets, Cuban President Miguel Daz-Canel bemoaned Friday's events, including "all of the destruction, but above all the loss of life, and also the injured people."

Daz-Canel stated in Spanish, "But once again I want to highlight the speed with which the population and the institutions were mobilized," "My greatest recognition to the rescuers and rescue forces that have not rested in the search for survivors and in the essential work of removing debris from the #HotelSaratoga and its surroundings."

According to the governor of Havana, Reinaldo Garca Zapata, the structures adjacent to the hotel, including two severely damaged apartment buildings, were being inspected.

Daz-Canel stated that families residing in impacted buildings were relocated to safer sites.

The Hotel Saratoga featured a breathtaking view over the center of Cuba, especially the Capitol building's dome, which was around 100 yards (100 meters) away. The explosion caused broken glass and structural damage to the Capitol.

The emblematic hotel is on the U.S. Department of State's 2020 list, where U.S. citizens are barred from staying.

In the past, visiting VIPs and political personalities, including high-ranking U.S. government delegations, have stayed at the Hotel Saratoga. In 2013, Beyoncé and Jay-Z stayed there.