Mexico Hotel Blast Kills 6

Four Canadians and two Mexicans dead, 15 injured
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 14, 2010 5:14 PM CST
Mexico Hotel Blast Kills 6
In this photo released by 570 News via The Canadian Press, debris is seen scattered on the lawn of a resort hotel in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Sunday Nov. 14, 2010.   (Pete Travers)

A powerful explosion believed to have been caused by an accumulation of gas killed six people and injured 15 today at a resort hotel on Mexico's Caribbean coast, authorities said. Four of the dead have been tentatively identified as Canadian tourists, including a nine-year boy, said an official. The blast occurred on the ground floor of one of a dozen or so buildings that make up the sprawling 676-room Grand Riviera Princess hotel in Playa del Carmen, located in Quintana Roo state south of Cancun.

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade could not immediately confirm the report of Canadian casualties. The official said the other two dead were Mexicans; it was unclear whether they were employees of the hotel or tourists. Eight of the injured are Canadians, two are Americans and five are Mexicans, he said. Officials said the initial investigations suggest the gas that exploded beneath the building was apparently not for cooking, but rather a mix of gases from a nearby swamp and possibly sewage. (More Mexico stories.)

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