ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

2 killed, 18 injured in gas explosion at Mexican resort

Mexico is shown in this map. Mexico is shown in this map.
Share

A gas tank exploded at a beachside restaurant on Mexico's Caribbean coast Monday, killing two restaurant employees and injuring 18 people, authorities said.

The restaurant is in a popular tourist zone of the Playa del Carmen resort, south of Cancun, and three of the injured people were apparently customers, though no information on their nationalities was immediately available. The other 15 people injured in the blast were also restaurant employees, officials said.

Prosecutors in the coastal state of Quintana Roo said eight of those injured at the Kool Beach restaurant had been released from hospitals.

State police chief Lucio Hernandez wrote in his social media accounts that the blast occurred "in a gas tank in the kitchen of the restaurant."

Photos from the scene appeared to show windows blown out and an awning collapsed.

It would not the first time that poor management of cooking gas lines has resulted in deadly accidents on Mexico's Caribbean coast.

In 2018, a gas leak in a water heater caused the deaths of an American couple and their two children in the resort town of Tulum, south of Playa del Carmen. An inspection revealed that the water heater at the rented condominium was leaking gas. Prosecutors said the gas leak was perhaps caused by a lack of maintenance or the age of the equipment.

In 2010, the explosion of an improperly installed gas line at a hotel in Playa del Carmen killed five Canadian tourists and two Mexicans.

In that case, prosecutors said the gas line, apparently meant to fuel a pool heating unit, was not properly installed or maintained. They said gas leaking from the line may have been ignited in an explosion by a spark from an electric switch or plug.

Mexio's Caribbean coast, the country's most popular tourism destination, has been battered by drug violence in recent years.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.