A nine-year-old boy and his father were among five Canadians killed by an explosion at a Mexican resort Sunday.
Seven people died when a blast tore through the lobby of the Grand Princess Riviera Hotel in Playa del Carmen around 9:30 a.m.
Six Canadians were also injured, suffering broken bones and severe burns. Two are in critical condition and are "receiving all appropriate medical care," Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Monday. Most of the wounded are from Ontario.
"On behalf of all Canadians and the government of Canada, I would like to extend my deep condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives and I also wish a very quick recovery to any who were injured during the blast," he said in Montreal.
Mexican authorities suggested the explosion was caused by naturally occurring gas from a nearby swamp that built up beneath the hotel and ignited.
Officials at the resort said no gas lines were located in the area where the blast occurred.
"From all intents and purposes, we understand that this is … an unfortunate accident, there's been loss of life and it is a tragedy," Mr. Cannon said.
The Mexican government also expressed "its solidarity and condolences to the families of victims who lost their lives in this unfortunate incident."
Francisco Alor, the attorney-general for Quintana Roo state, identified the Canadian victims as Paul Charmont Christopher, 51; his nine-year-old son, John Charmont; Malcolm Johnson, 33; Elgin Barron; and Marlene Ferguson, 51.
Mr. Johnson, a realtor with Coast Realty in Nanaimo, B.C., travelled to Mexico last week to get married, his friend David Komo said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"He got married a couple of days ago. His wife and daughter were down there with him," Mr. Komo said, his voice breaking with emotion. "His daughter is one year old."
Two Americans and three Mexicans were also hurt in the blast, which is believed to have killed two employees of the resort as well.
"This was a regrettable accident," said Mr. Alor.
The injured were transported to private hospitals in Playa del Carmen and Cancun. Italo Sampablo, medical director for the Hospiten chain of private hospitals, said none of the Canadians he treated had life-threatening injuries, but he was unable to say when they would be released.
There were mixed accounts of how many Canadians were affected by the explosion.
Pete Travers, the program director of 570 News in Kitchener, Ont., was staying at the resort with a group of clients and heard a loud crash, followed by the sound of doors slamming and people yelling.
His idyllic surroundings were suddenly strewn with debris and glass and Mr. Travers quickly posted a video of the scene to YouTube, showing emergency personnel ferrying the killed and injured across lush green grass.
"People are visibly shaken and upset, as you can imagine," he said.
Carson Arthur, 39, said in a phone interview from the resort that "all of the air was sucked out of every open door, every room and then pushed back at a huge rate."
"The velocity of the air coming back was incredible, so people were thrown around all over the place in the rooms and hallways," said Mr. Arthur, who was on vacation at the 676-room hotel with six friends.
Jesus Puc, director of the civil-protection agency, told news channel Milenio TV that the hotel had been inspected "punctually" with no irregularities discovered. He did not say when the last inspection occurred.
More than 400 of the Canadian guests at the hotel had booked their holidays with WestJet Vacations.
"Our primary concern is identifying those WestJet Vacation guests that are staying at the hotel and determining their status at this time," Richard Bartrem, vice-president of public relations for WestJet said in an interview.
"We do have representatives on the ground at the hotel, as well we have activated grief counsellors should anybody actually need any of their services."
The all-inclusive resort is popular among Canadian tourists and was the site of at least one company vacation and a wedding.
Mr. Travers was hosting a group of about 60 Canadians who were there as part of a client-appreciation trip. All members of his group were accounted for and safe, he said.
When he heard about the explosion, Mr. Travers and a few hotel guests rushed to grab deck chairs from the pool area to use them as makeshift stretchers for the injured. He witnessed hotel staff helping at least three or four people hurt in the blast.
Emergency crews and the military arrived about 15 minutes later.
As word spread around the resort that the explosion was accidental, not deliberate, the tourists appeared a bit relieved.
"When you look around and see the faces of everybody, everybody shares the same worry: 'Was this a deliberate explosion?' There's some cold comfort, if you will, that it was an accident. That's what we understand and believe," Mr. Travers said from his hotel room.
In Canada, relatives tried frantically to reach their loved ones at the resort.
Cheryl Harris of Red Deer, Alta., received a message from her daughter to say she was safe. Stephanie, 20, was at the resort for a wedding Tuesday.
Ms. Harris said she initially panicked, but was in better spirits when she heard that the explosion was an accident.
"At least you know somebody is not out to get them," Ms. Harris said. "I'm relieved that she is safe."
With reports from Jill Mahoney and The Canadian Press. David Agren is a freelance writer
Editor's Note: An earlier online version of this story contained an incorrect spelling of Elgin Barron's name. This version has been corrected.