“A family of seven – five adults and two minors – perished in the fire which, according to initial reports, was caused by the burning of electric mopeds in the home,” the news portal Cubadebate reported.

The fire broke out in the early dawn hours today in a house of masonry and wood, “and everything seems to indicate that the incident started due to the explosion of the vehicles that were at the entrance to the main room”, the outlet said.

At least three firetrucks were mobilised to put out the blaze, according to media images.

The tragedy is the latest in a series of deadly accidents involving e-bikes or similar electric vehicles whose lithium batteries exploded and sparked fires.

Last week four people died in a New York maintenance shop fire that police attributed to e-bike batteries – the 108th such fire this year in America’s largest city.

The Cuban press also regularly reports fires caused by two-wheelers’ exploding batteries.

Faced with recurring fuel shortages, electric vehicles – particularly scooters and mopeds – are becoming increasingly common in Havana.