Cozumel, Q.R. — UPDATED: Numerous hotel guests and staff were evacuated from a Cozumel hotel Monday after the report of a fire. Guests were seen sitting on parking area curbs of the hotel property while elements of the National Guard arrived to investigate.
According to preliminary information, witnesses stated that the fire started in the palapas located in the children’s area of the Allegro Cozumel Hotel, but when an attempt was made to extinguish the fire with nearby hoses, they did not have water.
Hotel employees revealed that the fire extinguishers were also not in good condition, so the fire got out of control.
Elements of the Mexican Army, the National Guard, Municipal Police, Civil Protection and several ambulances arrived at the site around 3:00 p.m. to evacuate guests and hotel staff. Guests were later seen being transferred to an unknown location in the back of National Guard trucks.
UPDATE: Paul Quintero, Director of Municipal Civil Protection for Cozumel, reported the complete closure of the hotel due to extensive fire damage. According to Quintero, the hotel’s fire system was not working at the time flames broke out, which caused the fire to spread.
He also said that the hotel had not complied with observations made to them previously by Civil Protection. For this reason, authorities returned to the hotel around 7:00 p.m. to shut it down until it is considered safe for both workers and guests.
Municipal authorities are continuing with their investigation into the cause of the massive fire.
