Mexico Launches Homicide Probe Into Hotel Blast
 CTV.ca News
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November 20, 2010
| | A view of the area destroyed by an explosion at the Grand Riviera Princess hotel in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. (Photo) | |
Mexican officials said a homicide investigation is underway after a hotel blast rocked the Playa del Carmen area early last Sunday killing seven people, including five Canadians.
Quintano Roo state attorney, Francisco Alor, said he was given the green light by Governor Felix Gonzalez Canto, to pursue criminal charges if the Nov. 14 explosion proved to be caused by faulty construction at the 676- room Grand Princess Hotel, a beach-line resort that lies on the Yucatan peninsula south of Cancun.
Investigators are still searching for answers into the blast and earlier reports of swamp gas have been dismissed. They are currently looking into a broken sewage line nearby that may have contributed to the blast. Other theories include the accumulation of methane gas from rotting material in waste water, ignited by the gas, could have caused the explosion, said Alor. Negligence is also being examined.
Seven people were killed, including five Canadians. The explosion ripped through the hotel lobby shortly after 9:35 a.m, injuring 18 people.
At least 60 Canadian tourists from Ontario's Kitchener-Waterloo region were staying at the hotel, while reports say other guests were from Alberta, Winnipeg and Quebec. WestJet spokesperson Richard Bartrem said more than 400 Canadians had booked vacations at the resort through his company.
Alor said Thursday three Canadian families have already launched homicide complaints, and more are expected to follow.
Among the dead are: Christopher Charmont, 41, and his nine-year-old son, John, from Drumheller, Alta; Malcolm Johnson, 33, who was married at the resort days before the blast, from Nanaimo, B.C.; Darlene Ferguson, a 51-year-old grandmother from the Edmonton area; and Elgin Barron, 51, from Guelph, Ont. Two hotel employees also died.
With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
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