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 Editorials | Issues | March 2007 
Mexican Holiday Turns Into Nightmare for B.C. Family
 CBC News
| | Heinz Zimmermann, 72, went missing and died while swimming in the waters off an upscale Mexican resort earlier this month. (CBC) | 
| | Gordon Zimmermann says the staff at the resort told him they couldn't help him search for his missing father. (CBC) |
A grieving B.C. family is speaking out about the lack of emergency preparedness at an all-inclusive Mexican resort following a deadly accident that turned a recent holiday into a nightmare.
Gordon Zimmermann and his family from Kelowna had been at the five-star Palladium resort just outside Puerto Vallarta for less than a day when tragedy struck earlier this month.
Zimmermann's 72-year-old father, Heinz Zimmermann, of Swift Current, Sask., went missing while swimming in the ocean.
After a frantic search, the family asked hotel staff for help, but they were told there was no lifesaving gear, said Zimmerman.
"The assistant manager, the person in charge, informed me there was no ability for them to go out on the water, or any ability to search for someone in the water. No boat. The Jet Ski they had was broken, and had been broken for two years."
Even with frantic pleas, Zimmermann said the resort offered no help, so he and his brother searched the waters themselves for hours using a dinghy and flashlights.
Fourteen hours later, still with no sign of the missing senior, Zimmermann rented a private helicopter to do his own search.
An hour later, he found his father's body floating two kilometres from the resort.
"When we found him face down in the water, it was difficult, but we were happy to find him."
Canadian consular officials in Puerto Vallarta told Zimmermann they have tried to persuade Mexican resorts and authorities to provide emergency services, but little has changed.
He told CBC News his father's death is a terrible wakeup call of how little help there is when you get into trouble in some parts of Mexico.
"They want people to come and visit, but when an emergency happens, they prefer to ignore it and not alarm other customers." |
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