Canadian Girl Badly Beaten in Mexician Resort-Canadian’s Urged to be Cautious

A young Canadian woman beaten unconscious in a resort in Mazatlan adds to the influx of violent incidents in Mexico in recent weeks.

Aliya Mawani, spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said officials in Mexico are aware of the beating and are assisting the woman along with her family.

“Our thoughts are with the badly injured Canadian and her family during this difficult time,” said Mawani in a press release earlier today.

The woman, reported to be in her 20s, was found by another traveler lying in a pool of blood in an elevator at the Riu Emerald Bay resort.

According to Noroeste.com a Mexican news site, another tourist was trying to enter the resort elevator where the woman was found. Investigators say she may have been assaulted in her hotel room, dragged down the hall and abandoned by the elevator.

This incident adds to the reported 112 Canadian incidents in Mexico over the past five years which has caused concerns for local travelers.

Josefine Oshunrinde, travel consultant at Humber’s Travel Centre told the dailyplanet.com that situations like this can be caused by things other than chance.

“We don’t know if the traveler had any previous altercations,” said Oshunrinde.

26 year old project management student David Achimugu said he would not be visiting Mexico because of the recent reports.

“It’s been consistently violent there, which means it’s not safe,” said Achimugu.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada has advised Canadians to ‘exercise a high degree of caution due to deteriorating security situations in many parts of the country’.

Oshunrinde gave some tips to stay safe when traveling to potentially dangerous areas.

“Travel in a group, try not to stray, and try not to get in other people’s business. Sometimes things happen simply because people get into someone else’ business,” said Oshunrinde.

In the event that assistance is needed while vacationing in Mexico, Canadian government contacts are available in popular resort areas such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan.

Canadians are expressing concerns, but the tourism industry in the country is still thriving.

In 2010, approximately 1.6 million Canadians visited Mexico.

(Source)