Swamp gas blamed for deadly Mexico hotel blast

Source: Agence France-Presse

Swamp gas blamed for deadly Mexico hotel blast
by Staff Writers
Cancun, Mexico (AFP) Nov 15, 2010

A massive blast that killed five Canadian tourists and two Mexicans at a luxury beach resort appears to have been caused by gas from a nearby swamp, local authorities suggested Monday.

Nine of 18 people hurt in Sunday's blast in the Grand Riviera Princess hotel in Playa del Carmen, south of Cancun in Quintana Roo state, were released from hospital Monday.

Preliminary investigations indicated "an accumulation of gas caused by the decomposition of organic material" underneath the building was behind the explosion, which blew out windows, said state attorney general Francisco Alor.

The damaged area of the hotel had been built four years ago on top of a swampy area, Alor said on Milenio television, ruling out that the blast was caused by an attack.



Read more: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Swamp_gas_blamed_for_deadly_Mexico_hotel_blast_999.html

It had to do with tourists, unused to the effects of legume-heavy Mexican food, and an open flame…

The real cuisine of Mexico is an amazing fusion of African, Maya, Aztec, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.

Poor folks live on beans. People with good hotel jobs eat a lot better.

when your initial reaction is to be glad it wasn't a bomb :(

the ticket

Next question?

What hell is swamp gas anyway?

LOL!!

....ruined the wallpaper in my wifes' bathroom....

But not swamp gas.

For one thing, it's hard to see where adequate oxygen would come from to sustain a large explosion from methane disseminated in soil. Natural gas leaking from a pipe rupture can cause large explosions, but this isn't the same thing.

It would be interesting to know whether there are well documented cases similar to this.

Sewer gas may be behind deadly Mexico hotel blast
By GABRIEL ALCOCER, Associated Press,

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 4:56 p.m.

CANCUN, Mexico — New evidence discovered Tuesday suggests an accumulation of sewage gases may have caused the weekend explosion at a seaside resort that killed five Canadian tourists and two Mexican workers, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities had previously said swamp gases produced by rotting vegetable matter trapped beneath the hotel's ground floor might have triggered Sunday's explosion.

Investigators said Tuesday they of methane, which could have caused this explosion," said Felix Gonzalez Canto, governor of southeastern Quintana Roo, where the resort is located.

On Monday, officials noted the resort had been built partly over an area of former mangrove thickets and said that perhaps explosive swamp gases produced by rotting vegetation might have been trapped beneath the ground floor.

More:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/16/sewer-gas-may-be-behind-deadly-mexico-hotel-blast/