NEED TO KNOW
Francesca Valentino, an Italian tourist, has been identified as the victim who died after a fire broke out at the Viva Dominicus Beach Hotel in the Dominican Republic on June 19
“A vacation has turned into an unacceptable tragedy,” Italy’s Tourism Minister Gianmarco Mazzi said, reacting to Valentino’s death
The victim who died due to a hotel fire in the Dominican Republic has been identified.
Francesca Valentino, a 46-year-old resident of Caserta, Italy, was killed after a massive blaze broke out at the Viva Dominicus Beach Hotel in Bayahibe in the early hours of Friday, June 19, according to NBC News, Dominican Today and Italian News Agency Ansa, which cited the Dominican Republic Emergency Services (DAEH).
Valentino evacuated to the beach with other tourists after the fire started, but she lost consciousness after inhaling carbon monoxide from smoke, Ansa reported.
She was assisted by DAEH personnel and transported to a medical facility in the La Romana province in the Dominican Republic, but she died while receiving treatment from medical staff, Dominican Today reported.
Francesca Valentino.
Credit: Facebook
Three other people were also taken to the hospital, and six others were treated on site, according to NBC News, which cited the DAEH.
Those affected by the massive blaze include guests, visitors and emergency responders, per the outlet.
PEOPLE reached out to DAEH for comment but did not receive an immediate response on Saturday, June 20.
In a statement to Ansa, Italy’s Tourism Minister Gianmarco Mazzi expressed his condolences “for the tragic death of our compatriot Francesca Valentino.”
“A vacation has turned into an unacceptable tragedy,” Mazzi continued. “I am following the situation in contact with the tour operator, the Farnesina, and the Italian Embassy in Santo Domingo, which I thank for providing immediate assistance to the victim’s husband and the remaining 285 Italians present at the resort.”
“The safety of our tourists abroad must be our absolute priority. A first return flight for 130 Italians is scheduled for today, bound for Verona,” he added.
According to Ansa, Valentino met her husband in Bayahibe while traveling to Italy, and the couple later welcomed two daughters together.
The mom of two eventually returned to work in Caserta, where she ran a bed and breakfast in the city center.
Footage of fire at the Viva Dominicus Bayahibe resort in La Altagracia, Dominican Republic.
Credit: Gojko Dominikana via Storyful
The DAEH said in a news release on June 19 that the fire at the Viva Dominicus Beach Hotel prompted the evacuation of several guests, including 177 children and 21 infants.
They were relocated to nearby hotels where they were assessed, COE Director Juan Manuel Méndez told Diario Libre.
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“Preliminary observations indicate that the fire spread rapidly due to the flammable nature of parts of the roof structures made of palm, as well as wind conditions,” said Dominican Republic’s Centro de Operaciones de Emergencias (COE) in a statement obtained by Reuters.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Read the original article on People