Explosion Kills Six at Mexican Resort

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — An explosion believed to have been caused by an accumulation of natural gas killed six people and injured 15 Sunday at a resort hotel on Mexico's Caribbean coast, authorities said.

Initial reports indicate that three Canadian tourists may be among those who lost their lives in the blast, said Quintana Roo state Attorney General Francisco Alor.

The explosion happened in the lobby of the 676-room Grand Riviera Princess hotel in Playa del Carmen, which is located in Quintana Roo.

Officials at Canada's Office of Foreign Affairs and International Trade could not immediately confirm the report of Canadian casualties.

A receptionist at the hotel confirmed the explosion at the hotel, a large complex with more than a dozen buildings.

Two of the dead were believed to be hotel employees, while the sixth victim had not yet been identified, Alor said.

Photos from the scene show shards of glass and other material littering a broad swath of the hotel's palm-lined lawn.

Alor said initial investigations were focusing on the possibility that naturally occurring gas from a nearby swamp had built up under the hotel and somehow ignited.