PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Friends and family of five Canadians killed in a weekend explosion at a Mexican resort were reeling from their loss Monday, as they tried to make the painful arrangements necessary in the wake of the tragedy.
The apparent gas explosion at the Grand Riviera Princess Hotel, a sprawling complex in the beach-lined resort of Playa del Carmen, tore through one of the site’s lobbies Sunday morning, killing seven people.
A B.C. man in Mexico for his wedding, as well as an Alberta father and his nine-year-old son, were among the Canadians killed.
The dead have been identified as father and son Christopher Charmont, 41, and John Charmont, 9, from Drumheller, Alta.; groom Malcolm Johnson, 33, from Nanaimo, B.C.; Darlene Ferguson, 51, from the Edmonton area; and Elgin Barron, from the Guelph, Ont. area.
"It’s an unfortunate accident," said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon Monday morning at a news conference. "There’s been loss of life and it is a tragedy. But I’m sure that in the next couple of weeks and months, the government of Mexico will be able to cast and shed all of the light on this incident."
Johnson, a Nanaimo realtor, was in Mexico getting married when he was killed. His spouse, Heather Pynten, and their one-year-old daughter, survived the explosion.
"He was a great friend and colleague," said an emotional Dave Komo, who described the up-and-coming realtor as easy to talk to. "He was a great, outgoing guy who was super business smart. It’s horrible."
"We’re all in shock," said Johnson’s boss, Ron Williams, the managing broker at Coast Realty, Sunday night. "His lovely wife has identified his body.
"I heard he went down to the lobby to retrieve some messages and his wife wasn’t with him when the explosion happened," said Williams.
Darren Footz of Vancouver was on the scene minutes after the explosion, and said he saw staff members weeping, and guests performing CPR on a person who looked dead. One person told him he had seen a dead boy inside.
Friends of Terra Charmont – who lost her husband and young son in the explosion – said they had been ready to head down to Cancun to assist her, but she insisted they remain at home and help her on the ground in Canada until she can get back.
Tammi Garbutt said Monday that Charmont is holding up as best she can, staying strong for their daughter Megan, 11, who’s suddenly lost both her father and little brother.
The family had been in Mexico on an eagerly anticipated family vacation.
"I don’t even know how to describe (what she’s feeling)," said Garbutt, who had spoken to her friend.
She said she believed the mother and daughter were in the family’s hotel together room when the explosion happened.
Soon after, Charmont went to find her husband and younger child. "Somebody had come out, saw her distraught, looking for her husband and son, and has been with them ever since," said Garbutt.
"I think they’re Canadian. She has had some support. I’m glad she has somebody. There were many people ready to go and be with her, and help her. She wanted everybody to stay put, be here and be ready and do whatever she might need."
Chris Charmont worked as an instrument mechanic for more than 13 years with Calgary-based energy company Encana Corp.
Darlene Ferguson, an Edmonton-area grandmother who was in Mexico for her son’s wedding was walking with her two-year-old grandson when the blast went off nearby, said her brother, Barry Hoffman. Ferguson died in hospital.
"We heard she was injured," Hoffman said. "Then we heard one of her lungs collapsed. Then we heard she passed away on the operating table."
Family expect her injured grandson to survive, Hoffman said.
Cancun hospital director Dr. Italo Sampablo told Postmedia News on Sunday evening four wounded Canadians were in stable condition at his hospital.
Most of them were taken to hospital for fractured limbs and burns, he said, but added one had been expected to undergo "a minor operation" to the spine.
Most of the Canadian patients should be out of the hospital by Tuesday, Sampablo said, while others could stay there as long as five days.
The Mexican government has issued a statement through its embassy in Ottawa expressing "its solidarity and condolences to the families of victims who lost their lives or were injured in this unfortunate incident."
WestJet Airlines Ltd. has sent a rescue plane to pick up dozens of vacationers from the resort. Councillors will be on board as well, said the company in a statement Monday.
"On that aircraft there are 15 to 20 special assistance team members," said WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer. "These are WestJet employees who step up and volunteer to take additional training to work with people who have experienced traumatic situations."
Airline staff will be trying to find as many people as possible to see if they want to stay.
"We are offering people the opportunity to move to other resorts if they wish to continue their vacation in Cancun," he said.
There were about 400 WestJet Vacations guests saying at the huge resort at the time of the blast. The facility accommodates more than 2,000 people.
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