A massive beachfront fire decimated a resort popular with Americans and international travelers in the Dominican Republic on Friday, resulting in the death of one woman and forcing 1,700 guests and staff to evacuate.
The fire broke out at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Hotel, in moments becoming a fast-spreading inferno and belching plumes of dark smoke billowing over the normally placid Caribbean coastline.
Video footage shows thatched roofs and hotel facilities engulfed in flames with stunned tourists stranded on a nearby beach not sure where to go.
A 46-year-old Italian national identified as Francesca Valentino perished in the fire and three other people were transported to medical facilities in Bayahibe, a town located on the Dominican Republic’s southeastern coast.
Local weather and easily-ignited roofing contributed to the speed in which the fire destroyed the resort, the New York Post reported per local fire authorities.
“Preliminary observations indicate that the fire spread rapidly due to the flammable nature of parts of the roof structures made of palm, as well as wind conditions,” the Dominican Emergency Operations Center (COE) said.
The cause of the fire has yet to be officially determined.
“Tourist activities in Bayahibe and the surrounding area remain unaffected and continue to take place safely and as normal,” COE added.
More video taken showed what was left of the beach hotel, which appears as little more than a checkerboard of blackened lots.
The Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace, part of the same chain, did not sustain any damage.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.