HAVANA (AP) A small explosion caused minor damage to the lobby of the luxury Hotel Melia Cohiba early Monday in the third hotel blast in the Cuban capital in as many weeks.
The blast caused "more of a scandal than anything and did not result in a single injury,'' Juan Jose Vega, president of the government-owned tourism company Cubanacan, told reporters in the hotel lobby.
The five-star hotel is co-owned by Cubanacan and the Spanish hotel chain Sol-Melia, which has interests in seven hotels with more than 5,000 rooms in Cuba. It plans to open an eighth next year.
The blast comes at an embarrassing time for the Cuban government, just as it is wrapping up a highly publicized, communist-sponsored international youth festival.
Officials hope that the gathering of more than 11,000 young people that closes on Tuesday will jump-start the tourism industry in the midst of economic crisis.
A security guard at the Melia Cohiba, who refused to give his name, described the blast as a "light explosion.''
There was no immediate comment from the Cuban government on the blast, which occurred in the corner of the lobby of the towering oceanside hotel, one of the newest in Havana.
Last month, the Cuban government blamed explosions at the Capri and El Nacional hotels on unidentified attackers from the United States. The Clinton administration said it had no information linking U.S. citizens to the earlier blasts, which injured three people.
The hotel chain said Cuban authorities were investigating the cause of the 7:05 a.m. blast, stressing "the hotel at this moment is functioning absolutely normally and at full capacity.''
Some hotel guests said they did not hear the blast.
"Well, it must not have been very big,'' said a Spanish woman who declined to give her name.
Several army officers in uniform stood in the hotel lobby, keeping the curious away from an area blocked off by wide panels of wood and white cotton sheets. The sound of hammers could be heard.
A German shepherd dog sniffed the area, apparently searching for explosives.
Cuba has accused people from the United States of setting last month's blasts to scare away tourists and harm the government. It says it has evidence to back up its claims and will make it public when the timing is right.
© 1997 Associated Press.