Mozambique: Resort in south unable to capitalise on potential of famed beaches
Photo: TVM
Thirteen of 16 chalets at the Bazaruto Pestana Lodge hotel in Mozambique were destroyed by a fire on Friday, a source has told Mozambican Television (TVM). There were no casualties.
The tourism enterprise on Bazaruto Island in the Indian Ocean, 13 kilometres off the coast of Inhambane province, Mozambique, is owned by Portuguese-led Pestana multinational, and had been closed for rehabilitation for several months.
A caretaker at the scene said that the fire had started in a ruin, Catarina Mathusse, administrator of Bazaruto National Park, told TVM. The wind has caused the fire to spread rapidly, while residents fought the fire themselves.
The images show a column of smoke and people trying to extinguish the blazing chalets. According to the report, the fire coincided with low tide, making it even more difficult to access water to put it out.
Notícias reports Inhambane provincial director for culture and tourism, Fredson Bacar, as saying the incident may have been triggered by of an exploding gas bottle.
There were no guests, the resort having been closed for rehabilitation works for about two years, although extensive material damage was recorded. Bacar described the incident as a major setback for tourism in the province, at a time when everything was being done to revive it.
“The Pestana Group mobilised large suns for the rehabilitation and modernisation of the resort, as well as a second phase which would have seen an increase in the number of chalets,” Bacar said.
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