Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Gas tank explosion causes large fire in Holbox leaving 1 wounded, hotels damaged

A large fire on the Quintana Roo island of Holbox injured one person and damaged scores of rooms at two hotels on Monday night.

A gas tank explosion triggered the blaze on the small island located off the northern coast of mainland Quintana Roo.

The fire, which broke out at approximately 10 p.m. local time, destroyed at least 60 rooms at the Casa Las Tortugas and Posada Mawimbi hotels and also damaged a restaurant, according to a report by news website Expansión Política.

Casa Las Tortugas was completely destroyed, the newspaper El Financiero reported.

Casa Las Tortugas in Holbox, Quintana Roo, Mexico
The hotel Casa Las Tortugas was completely destroyed. (Casa Las Tortutgas/Facebook)

The beachfront hotels are located near the western tip of Holbox, a popular tourist destination reached by ferry from the village of Chiquilá. The fire spread quickly because of the organic material – wood and palm leaves – with which they were built.

Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama said on Twitter late Monday that a young person was injured by the fire, but not seriously.

“The Quintana Roo government has made all resources available to attend to the situation. The fire is being controlled, the fire is being extinguished,” she wrote just before midnight local time.

According to Expansíon Política, Holbox residents used buckets of water to help bring the blaze under control because it took some time for firefighters and Civil Protection personnel to reach the island from the mainland.

Lezama, who visited the island on Tuesday morning, said on Twitter that the three levels of government, the business community and society in general will work together to build a fire station on Holbox.

“We acknowledge the volunteers and authorities that managed to extinguish the fire here in Holbox,” the governor said in another post.

Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama at scene of a fire in Holbox.
Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama arrived the next day to view the damage and confer with fire officials. (Mara Lezama/Twitter)

“We’re supporting tourists to recover their documents and taking stock of the material damage,” she added.

With reports from Expansión Política and El Financiero

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Authorities inspecting bus cargo hold

320 baby turtles seized on a passenger bus on the Mexico City-Puebla highway

0
The seizure was part of an ongoing operation aimed at curbing wildlife smuggling, one of the most lucrative environmental crimes in Mexico.
A full-sized public transport bus painted in green and black. It its model name, the Taruk, written in a couple of places on the bus and also the name of one of the designing companies, Mega Flux.

Mexico reveals the Taruk, the first made-in-Mexico electric bus

1
The EV bus, developed by collaborating Mexican companies with support from the National Autonomous University and Conahcyt, was unveiled in Mexico City Tuesday.
Protesters holding up posters the size of their bodies that show different members of the so-called Ayotzinapa 43 students as they march down a Mexico City street.

Feds arrest ex-Iguala police officer in Ayotzinapa 43 case

0
On Tuesday. authorities arrested Rey Flores, an ex-cop with alleged ties to the Guerreros Unidos cartel believed to have abducted 43 students from Iguala in 2014.
Who is new U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson?