Massive fire at popular Dominican Republic resort kills 1 person, reports say

Milena Malaver, Miami Herald on Jun 20, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A massive fire ripped through a popular luxury resort in the Dominican Republic — killing at least one tourist and forcing thousands to evacuate, reports say.

An Italian woman died on Friday due to the fire at Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Hotel in Bayahíbe, a resort town close to La Romana and Casa de Campo, according to Dominican newspaper Listin Diario.

“The Emergency Operations Center (COE) in conjunction with various regional fire departments contained the fire,” a spokesperson for the Dominican Republic Department of Tourism told the Miami Herald in a statement. “We are saddened that a guest perished and we send our thoughts to the family, while we await autopsy results to determine the cause.”

Around 1,690 people staying at the hotel were relocated to nearby hotels, said Emergency Operations Center Director Juan Manuel Méndez, according to Listin Diario.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and the hotel will remain closed until further notice.