Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett as said his ministry is monitoring the situation at the Bahia Principe Hotel in Runaway Bay, St. Ann where two children have drowned in the last three weeks.
Mr. Bartlett, who was speaking on Friday, said representatives of the ministry arrived quickly at the scene of the incidents and have been “working closely with the families.”
He said he is saddened by the incidents.
“I want to express our condolences to the parents in particular and to indicate that as usual, we are ready to work with them to ensure a smooth arrangement in so far as transportation and movement of the body is concerned, in both cases,” he announced.
The minister also urged stakeholders to improve their safety and security to ensure there is no recurrence of such incidents.
On Thursday, a child, identified as four year-old Amir Hall, of New York in the US, drowned in a pool at the hotel.
The incident occurred shortly after 3 p.m.
Reports are that Amir was with two other children playing in a pool when he attempted to swim to his mother.
He was later seen floating and unresponsive.
Another child, eight year-old Antoine Bookard, of a Philadelphia address in the US, died while playing with his family in a pool at the hotel on June 16.
This hotel is cursedddd from it a build, owners must involve inna blood sacrifice mek so many persons have died there no sah.
Every year so tragedy unfolds there eehh when anno workers a dead, a guest or the place a ketch a fire not to mention. Mi would never set foot in there!.
Worst looking hotel also!
That land salt I heard a who is who saying that the land was built on John Crow habitat, other people say built on ancient arawak lands. It seems even NEPA knew something was wrong because it is said they went as far as to take them the govt to court or them or whatever to stop construction.
Now remember the one in mexico has had several tragedies too but let us really think about this cursed hotel
Collapsed during construction
Murder
Fire
Multiple car accidents involving their hotel owned vehicles resulting in deaths of many staff members including foreign workers
Groom getting seriously ill
Multiple industrial disputes
Now mysterious baby deaths
Something is wrong the people who own this nuh know if control their high science demons
It must have been an altar and still crying for blood
this thing big sis…i dont know who would step foot there I applied for a job there was shortlisted and my mother cuss and gwaan bad. her church came with the idea for a trip there and nuff ppl lick out and hear the nerve of one of the church sisters “i have a link in there so they won’t put us on the haunted wing cuz they love put locals on that wing” I just shake my head and all now none a dem nuh say them covered so they can go in the haunted wing. that hotel should be demolished and more destruction is to come.
They soon find who to calm down the spirits there cause dem nah go waa tek it down
Yup, its a curious place. I went there and just bursted in tears asi picked up the spirits of oppression on the staff. They are clearly not treating their staff well. I would not go again or recommend it to anyone
That hotel is CURSED. I stayed there 2 years ago, and will never go back. Woke up one morning and could have sworn I saw an Indian man sitting in a chair on the balcony (could have been dreaming..lol), but it was like real. So many people have been killed…building workers, staff in car and bus crashes,now these kids. That place must be on sacred grounds.
I believe you. That is how you see them sometimes. It’s like you wee in a vivid dream but you weren’t really asleep or dreaming.
To drown while swimming with other people?? This is tragic and also suspicious.
he did not drown while swimming, he climbed an area in the pool he was not supposed to which caused him to slide off, hit his head, and fell in the water. The medical team worked so hard to resuscitate him. The situation was so sad to see this tiny boy laying there getting this chest pump is a site I will never forget may he rest in peace.
Heard too it was built on sacred burying ground. The Spirits are upset
From Jamaica Star- 2006
Workers on the BahÌa PrÌncipe construction site in Pear Tree Bottom, St. Ann, and residents of nearby communities, say the site is haunted by ghosts.
Some think the property is roamed by the ghosts of the previous owners, while others think the spirits of long-deceased Arawaks have come back to claim their land.
Since work on the hotel started, construction has been put off on at least two occasions. Even before actual construction began, the site faced opposition from environmental groups who believed the construction would compromise the ecological balance in the area. With one riot, two collapsed sections and a fire later, workers and residents are convinced that the site is cursed.
One worker who has been on the site since work first began, told THE STAR, “Da place ya nuh so right. Every minute supp’m happen. Mi feel seh a duppy, dem mussi feel like wi a tek over di land. People a drop off a building an wi nuh know why. All today [Sunday] we have a funeral. More time mi have di feelin fi no come back.”
Other workers and residents of the nearby Discovery Bay community, also claim that the unusual events have been influenced by forces from another realm. Although several theories have been put forward, one story remains constant among several of the persons with whom THE STAR spoke. Several men who slept on the site are said to have seen a woman with long hair riding through the grounds on a white horse. They say this woman was a member of the family that owned the land.
Another worker, Ryan, willingly told THE STAR a much-talked-about legend. He says the previous owners of the land were unwilling to sell, despite lots of offers from various people. Some time in the 1990s, the owner mysteriously disappeared and his body was later fished from the sea. The land was now up for grabs. Ryan says the accidents are occurring because the family is upset about the construction and “is working to get them off the land.”
Further down the road from the site, THE STAR met Rob, 50, who has lived in Discovery Bay all his life. He repeated Ryan’s story but his version had a few twists. He said the land was controlled by two other family members, after the owner’s death, but said the relatives, a man and a woman vanished soon after. Rob says this is the woman who has reportedly been seen riding the horse.
Rob says “nothing whe buil down deh won’t succeed” and told THE STAR: “A nuh bad cement or nothin wha dem a seh, a jus so it go. It was a unfair deal. Out deh cursed man. Mi not even did love it when dem start buil’ out deh, an mi seh mi naw go look no work.”
A resident that was found sitting in a bar told THE STAR what seemed to be a tall tale. He said the site is haunted by the spirits of old Arawaks who lived in the area until Columbus’ arrival in the 15th century when they were forced away. The resident says the spirits are now exacting revenge on the new team of Spaniards that has come to build the hotel.
I was at the resort with my family at the poolside when this terrible accident happened and I still here the mother scream I feel for the family may god give them strength through this difficult time.
Oh my! I’ve stayed at this resort before. Never had an issue, matter a fact it is #1 on my top 5 list of resorts here in ja.
This was so disturbing to read, me nuh think ma go back.
Rest in peace to those two children and may god be with their families, wow 🙁
Haunting aside, I really think some parents just take no responsibility for their kids while at resorts. Last month My step daughter had to save a little man while his Mum was busy taking selfies. Minutes before he was unsupervised and started drinking the pool water, smh.
Life guards are there, but its YOUR kid and unless the LG can reproduce the child, they are still your responsibility.
Had two 11 and one 12 yo with me & we watched them like hawks, even after stern warnings
u mussi a big head dummy…..u nuh see is a supernatural force pull dem unda u ever hear ppl a drown inna pool beside other ppl and memba hotel pools in jamaica are shallow all the way round.
GOOD DAY ALL. I WAS IN JAMAICA FROM JUN 15 TO JUN 19 2018. STAYING AT BAHIA GRAND AND THE 9 YR OLD BOY FROM PHILLY DROWN ON MY SECOND DAY THERE. THEY HURRY UP AND HUSH HUSH IT. I FOUND OUT BECAUSE I MET HIS AUNT IN THE ELEVATOR, HE IS AN ONLY CHILD AND HIS MOM WAS SUPPOSEDLY HAVING A BITE TO EAT AT THE BUFFET WHILE HE WAS AT THE POOL WITH OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS.. IT WAS A LARGE GROUP THAT CAME FOR A WEDDING. I WENT WITH MY SON AND NEVER LET HIM GO IN THAT POOL. THE PLACE FELT HEAVY NAW LIE.. IT GIVES U THAT EERIE FEELING. THE FOOD WAS CRAPPY AND WORKERS RUDE AS F**K. MI NO KNOW HOW DEM GET SO MUCH BUSINESS
I believe in God and things do happen naturallyMy family and I went on a 5 day trip to the chain in Dominica Republic …. The safety box opens after I ensure it was securely closed. My question was… Is this malfunctioning? at nights the water running as if someone taking a shower.. The first night I heard it, I taught it was coming from the room next door. The second night I taught it was rain on the third night my daughter convinced me it was coming right from our bathroom.
The lights flickering intermittently. I taught it was a power surge but the sound of the switch like a real person from the hallway to the bathroom to the bedroom area gave me the creeps. I prayed and pleaded the blood
I rested my passport in the safe. Couldn’t find it . when I was about to call security my daughter checked and it was braced to the side of the box. Mind you it was four passports together but mine???? My 3 year old also keep saying there is a ghost behind the drapes. I never believed it was actually happening but on the last night when the showering continued I coy wait for day light. I got my luggage and ran out of there. Scary expy