Gas explosion in Playa del Carmen hotel; two dead, 21 injured
The Kool Spa Beach Club, in Playa del Carmen, was damaged after a gas explosion in the kitchen caused by a gas leak; two people perished when the walls and ceiling of the building fell on them.
Playa del Carmen, QR., Two people died and 21 (17 Mexicans and four foreigners) were injured as a result of an explosion in the kitchen of the beach club of the Kool Spa hotel, in Playa del Carmen, head of the municipality of Solidaridad.
The Attorney General's Office (FGE) of Quintana Roo announced that the deceased from the explosion, both workers of the establishment, were identified with the initials AMC and AHH. It added that an investigation into the accident has been initiated.
The Secretariat of Civil Protection, Risk Prevention and Firefighters of Solidaridad informed that this Monday, at approximately 1:00 p.m., a gas tank exploded in the kitchen of the Kool Spa -located in front of the Mamita's beach club, whose manager, Federico Mazzoni, was murdered in January-, which brought down walls and the roof of the place, crushing several people. He added that a nearby Oxxo store also suffered structural damage and a palapa caught fire.
Rescue and security forces, including municipal police and firemen, as well as members of the Mexican Army and the National Guard, as well as experts from the FGE, cordoned off the area and rescued the injured.
Carlos Contreras Mejorada, secretary of social justice and municipal citizen participation, indicated that five Mexicans and one foreigner were taken to the local clinic of the Mexican Social Security Institute, with diagnoses of cranioencephalic traumatism, multiple contusions, minor burns, wrist and ankle fractures, but stable.
He added that eight patients were sent to the Playamed private hospital, of which five were discharged; four injured received attention at the Playa del Carmen general hospital, including a Brazilian resident, and another hospital received three people from Guadalajara, Jalisco.
At a press conference held at the site of the accident, Mayor Lili Campos Miranda announced that the administration she heads will be stricter in its civil protection inspections because the safety of workers and visitors to establishments such as Kool Spa is at stake; in addition, it will verify whether the hotel's operating permits are in order.
