Blast victim had no help finding dead son, husband

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This article was published 16/11/2010 (5667 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — A Canadian woman who lost her husband and nine-year-old son in a weekend explosion at a Mexican resort was left to fend for herself as she tried to track down the bodies of her husband and child, the woman’s family says.

Heather Bartzis is criticizing the immediate response of Canadian officials to the tragedy, saying they did little to help her daughter, Terra Charmont, in her darkest hour.

Charmont lost her husband, Christopher, and her young son, John, in what’s believed to have been a gas explosion Sunday at the Grand Riviera Princess Hotel in the beach-lined resort of Playa del Carmen.

Seven people, including five Canadians, were killed in the morning explosion in one of the resort’s lobbies.

The other Canadians killed were Malcolm Johnson, 33, from Nanaimo, B.C. — who was in Mexico for his wedding — Darlene Ferguson, 51, from the Edmonton area; and Elgin Barron, from the Guelph, Ont. area. Several other Canadians were injured.

“We were all very frustrated by the lack of communication and the slowness in… finding out where they had been taken and the lack of support for her.” Bartzis said Monday.

Terra Charmont survived the blast along with her other child, 11-year-old Megan. The Drumheller, Alta., family was in Mexico on vacation. Friends have said they believe the mother and daughter were in the family’s hotel room when the explosion happened.

“She was left on her own to locate them in hospital,” Bartzis said. “It was a very long day for Terra. Something worse could have happened, with her wandering around the city alone with her child, looking for her husband and son.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs declined to speak on any specific case linked to the hotel explosion.

— Postmedia News