Dominican Republic resort fire: Italian tourist dies in Bayahibe fire

A huge fire at a luxury beach resort in the Dominican Republic killed one woman and forced nearly 1,700 guests to be evacuated on Friday.

The woman was a 46-year-old Italian tourist, the DAEH emergency services said in a statement to local media. It added that three people were taken to medical facilities and six others were treated on site.

Drone footage shows how widespread the fire was, with buildings spanning the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach in the town of Bayahibe on fire, and thick black smoke billowing into the air.

The cause of the early-morning blaze is not yet known, but an initial investigation found the flames spread quickly due to wind conditions and the flammable thatched roofs on some buildings.

The country’s Emergency Operations Center (COE) said the fire had been brought under control and guests had been moved to other hotels.

It added that tourist activities in the town and surrounding area were not affected.

Italian news agency Ansa reported that the Italian ambassador to the Dominican Republic met the deceased woman’s husband at the hospital. The embassy is helping around 285 Italian tourists who were staying at the resort or nearby, issuing emergency passports to those whose travel documents were destroyed in the fire and arranging flights home.

Bayahibe, a popular resort town on the Caribbean coast, is known for its clear blue waters and sandy beaches.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which franchises about 8,400 hotels around the world, said in a short statement to the BBC that while “hotel teams safely evacuated guests and staff,” one guest died.

“We send our thoughts to the family while we await autopsy results to determine the cause,” it said.

It said the hotel, which is independently owned and operated, is closed and will remain so until further notice.