MONTEGO BAY, St James — The RIU Reggae Hotel in St James, which was closed last Thursday following an explosion at the property which left one dead and four others injured, has been reopened.

President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Omar Robinson told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that the hotel was reopened over the weekend following repairs and inspection by the St James Municipal Corporation and the Jamaica Fire Brigade.“They have been up and running since Sunday. Subsequent checks and investigations have been done by the parish council (municipal corporation) and the fire department,” stated Robinson.The Observer was not able to reach the hotel’s management.An explosion in the hotel’s boiler room last Thursday left 27-year-old maintenance manager Sederhori McIntosh dead and four of his colleagues injured.Mayor of Montego Bay Homer Davis said the management of the hotel was making plans to fly one of the injured workers overseas for treatment. However, it was not clear if the worker, who was reportedly badly burnt, had already left the country for treatment overseas.Local Government and Community Development Minister Desmond McKenzie said a clearer picture of the circumstances that led to the explosion that occurred at the RIU Hotel will be known by the end of this week.“The preliminary report of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, which is leading the investigation into the incident, has cleared the hotel to resume operations from a fire safety perspective,” the minister said.The Jamaica Fire Brigade is being assisted in the investigations by experts from the local government and labour ministries, St James Municipal Corporation, National Water Commission, National Works Agency, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, and the National Environment and Planning Agency.The team is being led by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Works Agency E G Hunter.— Anthony Lewis