Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — Officials in Playa del Carmen say a hotel inspection did not reveal a gas explosion in Riviera Maya as reported. On May 16, a local media outlet reported a gas explosion inside the Nickelodeon hotel that resulted in dead and injured.
Playa del Carmen Civil Protection General Director Darwin Covarrubias says no such thing happened. He said after hearing about the report, municipal authorities went to the hotel in north Playa del Carmen to inspect the dining area where the alleged explosion happened.
According to Covarrubias, the Director General de Protección Civil y Bomberos del Municipio Playa del Carmen, authorities inspected the hotel with authorization from the hotel’s security chief.
“No incident of this type was recorded and therefore, no one was injured or killed,” he said regarding the circulating media report which also claimed five injured, one of whom they said died from the Saturday morning explosion.
Covarrubias said municipal officials also contacted local hospitals in search of LP gas burn victims from a hotel or deaths from LP gas burns since the media report claimed one of the victims died in hospital.
The story published by the local media outlet could face legal consequences he said, referring to the story as fake news. It will be up to the hotel itself to decide whether or not to take legal action. “We are only coming out to clarify the situation as the authority responsible for Civil Protection,” he noted.
On May 16, a local media company published a story reporting “Saturday morning, at approximately 8:00 a.m., an incident occurred at the Nickelodeon Riviera Maya Hotel, where an apparent gas leak in the central dining room caused burns to at least five people. According to information provided by relatives of those affected, one of the hospitalized victims sadly died.
“So far, the hotel has handled the incident secretly, without issuing official statements. However, sources close to the injured have requested publicity regarding what happened, concerned about the lack of transparency.
“Authorities such as Cancún Civil Protection, the Quintana Roo State Attorney General’s Office, and the Secretariat of Citizen Security have already been notified of the incident, and prompt action is expected. Information continues to develop.”
Nickelodeon Hotels and Resorts Riviera Maya, owned by Grupo Lomas, has also publicly denied the story which has since been repeated by other digital outlets. Two days after the release of the initial story, the hotel released its own statement.
“Grupo Lomas reports that the publication circulated in some digital media outlets alleging an incident that occurred at its facilities is false news. The accommodation center is currently operating normally, including the kitchen and employee dining room. No situation has arisen that affects our guests and collaborators,” they said.
Earlier this month, officials with Playa del Carmen City Hall said they were considering legal action against people who spread fake news. City Council Secretary General Luis Herrera Quiam said they were looking into filing legal complaints against several individuals who have knowingly spread false news.
He says fake news has been posted to social media with the apparent intention of confusing citizens and destabilizing the municipal administration. According to Herrera Quiam, the city is currently collecting the misleading content in coordination with local SSC Cyber Police.
“We are documenting all the false information circulating and are not ruling out legal action if it is proven that there is an intent to manipulate or cause harm,” he said.
