Drumheller mourns death of father, son in explosion at Mexican

Drumheller mourns death of father, son in explosion at Mexican resort. THE CALGARY HERALD
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Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 11:24 - Actualizado Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 14:16
Chris Charmont, nine-year-old son John among five Canadians killed
BY SUZANNE WILTON AND SHERRI ZICKEFOOSE, WITH FILES FROM JAMIE
KOMARNICKI, POSTMEDIA NEWS, CALGARY HERALD NOVEMBER 15, 2010 COMMENT
S (15)
A Drumheller father and son were among the five Canadians killed in an explosion Sunday at a
beachside resort in Mexico's Riviera Maya.
The deaths of Chris Charmont and his nine-year-old son John devastated the small central
Alberta community, where the family was well known in minor hockey circles.
"We're devastated by what's happened," said family friend Jay Garbutt, whose young son
played hockey with John.
"His loss at his age is just an incomprehensible waste."
"Chris was a devoted family man. I know a lot of people say that, but he lived it. Nothing was
more important for him than being with his family," said Garbutt.
Charmont, whose work in the oil and gas industry brought the family to Drumheller, was well
respected in the community.
"He's someone whose integrity I really recognized and valued. If you were looking for someone
to be honest, that's him."
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Drumheller mourns death of father, son in explosion at Mexican resort. THE CALGARY HERALD
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Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 11:24 - Actualizado Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 14:16
John, a Greentree School elementary student, played Atom-level hockey for the Drumheller
Raptors team.
"John was a fun-loving goofball, a great friend to our son," said Garbutt.
The slow flow of information about the dead and injured was frustrating for family and friends
scanning Internet news reports.
"Trying to find out was next to impossible. There was a painful lack of information, even in the
age we live in," said Garbutt.
Names of the dead were confirmed late in the day, hours after the explosion.
The explosion occurred at the Grand Riviera Princess Hotel, a sprawling complex in the
beach-lined resort of Playa del Carmen on Mexico's Caribbean coast.
Francisco Alor, the attorney general for Quintana Roo state, identified the victims as father and
son Christopher Charmont, 41, and John Charmont, 9, from Drumheller; Malcolm Johnson, 33,
from Nanaimo, B.C.; Darlene Ferguson, 52, from the Edmonton area; and Elgin Aron.
"This brings the death toll to seven people, five Canadians and two Mexicans. The Mexicans
who died at the hotel were hotel employees. At the moment there are seven Canadians
injured," he told Postmedia News, adding that two of them were in unstable condition.
"Tentatively we are saying the explosion was caused by decomposition and accumulation of
underground gas," he said. "Under no circumstances are we talking about an attack. It was a
gas explosion and we are determining the causes."
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Drumheller mourns death of father, son in explosion at Mexican resort. THE CALGARY HERALD
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Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 11:24 - Actualizado Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 14:16
Ferguson, an Edmontonarea 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."
Her injured grandson is expected to survive, Hoffman said.
Most of Ferguson's family live in and around Edmonton and many were in Mexico for the
wedding. "It's so terrible," he said. "So tragic."
Johnson, a Nanaimo, B.C., realtor, was in Mexico getting married when he was killed. His
spouse survived.
An Edmonton couple who escaped the explosion said tourists are being kept in the dark about
what happened as hotel staff try to downplay the tragic incident.
"It's chaotic. Everyone is so hush, hush," said Edmonton's Chelsea Beatty.
"It's very scary."
It's believed hundreds of Canadians were staying at the 676-room hotel and resort; WestJet
Vacations alone was working to identify 400 guests.
Cancun hospital director Dr. Italo Sampablo told Postmedia News on Sunday evening four
wounded Canadians were in stable condition at his hospital.
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Drumheller mourns death of father, son in explosion at Mexican resort. THE CALGARY HERALD
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Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 11:24 - Actualizado Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 14:16
Most were there for fractured limbs and burns, he said, but added one was expected to undergo
"a minor operation" to the spine.
The blast shook the building around 9 a.m., tearing through one of the lobbies and bringing
down a section of roof.
Beatty said she and boyfriend Jeff Wall arrived at the hotel a day earlier and had upgraded to
an exclusive area of the massive resort. They were still in bed when they felt the concussion in
their room, which overlooks the pool and grounds and is about 61 metres from where the
explosion occurred.
"Our windows shook, I thought they were going to break," Beatty said.
Had they got up early, Wall said he would have been getting coffee and caught in deadly blast.
"It was too close for comfort," said the still shaken man.
The couple said vast areas surrounding the blast were cordoned off and guarded by Mexican
soldiers. The resort's beach was also closed.
Wall said the drama was made worse by accounts from other guests that a knife-fight broke out
in the lobby between news reporters and hotel staff trying to keep them out.
Information was not forthcoming, the couple complains. It was only through Google and family
and friends back home they learned what happened. The dearth of information has left them
uneasy.
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Drumheller mourns death of father, son in explosion at Mexican resort. THE CALGARY HERALD
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"It's very eerie," said Beatty, who's supposed to be there for the week. "We think they should
have had a meeting, or let us know we're safe. And if we don't feel safe, tell us where we can
go."
Other guests, however, were more forgiving.
"They're trying to make everything as normal as possible," said Kathy Mestagh, whose daughter
Wendy is supposed to be married at the resort this week.
The Innisfail woman said all 28 family and friends there for the wedding were unhurt and are
staying in rooms on the opposite side of where the explosion happened.
"We're all fine. We haven't heard any specific details."
Twenty-year-old Stephanie Harris, from Red Deer, messaged her parents.
"She said, 'There was an explosion, so if you hear anything on the news, I'm OK,' " Blaine
Harris said.
WestJet initiated its emergency response team after the incident in an effort to communicate
with its clients.
The airline has set up a toll-free line for families and friends looking for information. Call
1-866-786-6311 in Canada or the United States. In Mexico, call 215-352-3902.
swilton@calgaryherald.com
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Drumheller mourns death of father, son in explosion at Mexican resort. THE CALGARY HERALD
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Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 11:24 - Actualizado Martes, 16 de Noviembre de 2010 14:16
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