A woman died and 1,700 people were evacuated after a huge fire broke out Friday at a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic.
The victim was a 46-year-old Italian tourist, identified as Franchezca Valentino, the Listín Diario newspaper reported, citing the Directorate of Out-of-Hospital Emergency Care Services (DAEH).
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the woman suffered a respiratory crisis while on the beach, where she had gone to assist in the evacuation of the rooms at the tourist complex.
For their part, the authorities, in a statement, added that three people were taken to medical centers and another six received medical attention at the scene of the events.
Images captured with a drone showed huge columns of black smoke and large flames consuming the buildings of the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach complex in the town of Bayahibe.
Authorities have not reported the reasons for the fire.
“The causes of the fire remain under investigation, and the corresponding technical commission will be in charge of establishing them once the emergency and evaluation work at the site is completed,” reported Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE).
However, preliminary investigations indicate that the flames spread quickly due to the wind and the roofs of some of the buildings at the luxurious resort were made of palm leaves.
under control
The COE assured that the incident had been controlled and that the guests had been transferred to other hotels.
Likewise, they added that tourist activities in the town and its surroundings were not affected.
The Italian ambassador to the Dominican Republic met with the deceased woman’s husband at the hospital.
At the same time, the diplomatic representation launched an operation to assist the 285 Italian tourists staying in the damaged complex or in its surroundings, providing emergency passports to those who lost their documentation in the fire and coordinating their return flights, ANSA reported.
The Dominican Republic is the main tourist destination in the Caribbean, and in the first five months of the year it has received some 5.6 million visitors.
Many of the island’s visitors head to Bayahibé, a popular city on the Caribbean coast that is known for its crystal-clear waters and white sand beaches.
The BBC has contacted Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which operates approximately 8,400 hotels worldwide, for comment.
*With information from Vicky Wong
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