A powerful explosion that severely damaged a hotel in the Cuban capital Havana today killed at least eight people and injured about 30, officials said.

The blast severely damaged large parts of the exterior wall of the Saratoga Hotel, a 19th-century building in Old Havana, and appears to have been caused by a gas leak, according to a Twitter account from Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel’s office.

The president went to visit the scene of the incident.

It is stated that at least eight people were killed, about thirty were injured, and that search and rescue efforts are underway to find people who may have remained buried under the rubble.

The footage showed that most of the outer wall of the hotel was torn off.

The school next to the hotel was evacuated, and the locals told the media that they felt the explosion.

The five-star hotel, 96 rooms in Old Havana has two bars, two restaurants and a rooftop pool, according to its website.