Dominican Republic: Inferno in the holiday paradise – luxury resort burns down

Video footage shows the fire: at least one person died.

Around 1,700 guests had to be evacuated from a luxury beach hotel in Bayahíbe.
An Italian tourist died from smoke inhalation in the fire; at least ten people were injured.
Because of building materials and wind, the flames spread quickly and destroyed parts of the hotel complex and straw umbrellas on the beach.

An Italian tourist has died in a fire at a beach hotel in the Dominican Republic. This was reported by Dominican and Italian media, citing authorities. According to the Dominican Civil Protection Agency (COE), around 1,700 guests at the hotel in the city of Bayahíbe were brought to safety.

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The nationalities of the affected tourists have not been officially announced. According to media reports, guests from Italy, France and Argentina, among others, were staying at the hotel. It was initially unclear whether Germans were among them. The Italian woman is said to have died from smoke inhalation.

Numerous injured

Because of the construction materials and the winds, the fire spread quickly, said the head of the civil protection agency, Juan Manuel Méndez. The cause of the fire was initially unclear. According to the newspaper Listín Diario, at least ten people needed medical care.

The fire department fought the flames for hours. Videos showed flames destroying some of the hotel’s facilities and straw umbrellas on the beach, and huge clouds of black smoke rising.

In 2025, 11.7 million tourists visited the beaches and cultural sites of the Dominican Republic. In April 2025, a catastrophe with 235 deaths occurred when the roof of a discotheque collapsed in the capital Santo Domingo.

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Konstantin Furrer (fur) has been working for 20 minutes since 2017. Head of news desk since 2022, also editor of newspapers and member of the editorial board.