AT least five Canadian tourists and two workers were killed yesterday in a gas explosion that ripped through the restaurant of a hotel on Mexico's Caribbean coast, authorities said.

A child was among the dead at the Grand Riviera Princess hotel in the beach resort of Playa del Carmen, Francisco Alor, the attorney general for Quintana Roo state, told Reuters by telephone.

Alor said 17 people were hurt -- seven Canadians, two Americans and eight Mexicans. Two of the Canadians were seriously injured, he added.

"Under no circumstances are we talking about an attack. It was an explosion of gas and we are determining the causes," Alor said.

Officials from the Canadian embassy were not immediately available to comment.

Authorities said preliminary evidence pointed to an accumulation of gas beneath the floor of the restaurant. The blast blew pieces of the floor, glass and chairs out onto the manicured, palm-lined lawns of the sprawling hotel complex.

• canadian [kə´neidiən] a.加拿大的n.加拿大人 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• restaurant [´restərɔnt] n.饭店，菜馆 (初中英语单词)
• princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)
• resort [ri´zɔ:t] vi.求助；乞灵；诉诸 (初中英语单词)
• attorney [ə´tə:ni] n.代理人；律师 (初中英语单词)
• seriously [´siəriəsli] ad.严肃；严重，重大 (初中英语单词)
• available [ə´veiləbəl] a.可用的；有效的 (初中英语单词)
• comment [´kɔment] n.&v.评论；评注；注意 (初中英语单词)
• pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)
• complex [´kɔmpleks] a.复杂的 n.综合企业 (初中英语单词)
• explosion [ik´spləuʒən] n.爆炸；爆发；发作 (高中英语单词)
• embassy [´embəsi] n.大使馆；大使职务 (高中英语单词)
• preliminary [pri´liminəri] a.初步的 n.预赛 (高中英语单词)