A massive fire tore through the Viva Dominicus Beach by Wyndham resort in Bayahibe on the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic on Friday, killing one guest and forcing roughly 1,690 tourists to evacuate. Dominican emergency services confirmed the victim as Francesca Valentino, a 46-year-old Italian woman. Three people were hospitalized and six others received treatment at the scene.
The fire spread rapidly through the property, officials said, partly because of strong winds and the resort’s partly thatched roof structure. Authorities opened an investigation into the cause of the blaze. Local emergency teams relocated evacuated guests to nearby hotels and housing facilities across the country.
Video footage circulating on social media showed large sections of the resort engulfed in flames, with guests evacuating onto the beach. The Viva Dominicus Beach resort is a popular all-inclusive destination in Bayahibe, one of the Dominican Republic’s busiest tourist zones. The region attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, primarily from Europe and North America.
The Dominican Republic’s tourism sector recorded more than 10 million arrivals in 2024, making it the most visited country in the Caribbean. The government confirmed the emergency response and evacuation but has not issued a broader public statement on the incident. Resort management had not released a comment as of Sunday.
The Italian foreign ministry is expected to provide consular assistance to Valentino’s family. No official cause for the fire has been determined. Investigations into large resort fires typically take several weeks to produce preliminary findings.
Bayahibe sits about 30 kilometres from the city of La Romana in the country’s southeast. The Dominican Ministry of Tourism has not yet announced measures affecting other properties in the area. Safety reviews of thatched-roof structures at beachfront resorts are expected to follow as fire risk at all-inclusive properties across the Caribbean receives renewed attention.
