Five Canadians, two Mexicans dead in Cancun resort explosion

[Cao Pi]

Five Canadians, two Mexicans dead in Cancun resort explosion

CANCUN, Mexico | Sun Nov 14, 2010 10:05pm EST

CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) - At least five Canadian tourists and two workers were killed on Sunday in a gas explosion that ripped through the restaurant of a hotel on Mexico's Caribbean coast, authorities said. A child was among the dead at the Grand Riviera Princess hotel in the beach resort of Playa del Carmen, Francisco Alor, the attorney general for Quintana Roo state, told Reuters by telephone.

Alor said 17 people were hurt -- seven Canadians, two Americans and eight Mexicans. Two of the Canadians were seriously injured, he added. "Under no circumstances are we talking about an attack. It was an explosion of gas and we are determining the causes," Alor said.

Officials from the Canadian embassy were not immediately available to comment. Authorities said preliminary evidence pointed to an accumulation of gas beneath the floor of the restaurant. The blast blew pieces of the floor, glass and chairs out onto the manicured, palm-lined lawns of the sprawling hotel complex.

(Reporting by Isela Serrano; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

 

[Cao Pi]

Guests look out from a balcony to the site of a gas explosion inside a hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.

Tourists and hotel employees stand behind a yellow police line after an explosion at the hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.

Soldiers stand outside the Grand Riviera Princess hotel after a gas explosion at the hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.


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[Cao Pi]

Family members of hotel employees wait for news after a gas explosion at the Grand Riviera Princess hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.

Papers, boxes, among other debris are pictured on the lawn at the site of an explosion at a hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.

Ambulances and military personnel are seen near the site of an explosion at a hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.


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[Cao Pi]

Debris float in a swimming pool after an explosion at a hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.

Papers, boxes, among other debris are pictured on the lawn at the site of an explosion at a hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.


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[Cao Pi]

A soldier stands guard near an area destroyed by an explosion at a hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.

People stand near a destroyed area after an explosion at a hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.

Members of the Red Cross stand near a destroyed area after an explosion at a hotel in Cancun November 14, 2010.


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