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Daily Record
7 days ago
- Daily Record
Family's Mexico ‘dream holiday' turns into terror as gunfight erupts at poolside
Colin Nulty, from Bolton, was enjoying a family break with his wife and 14-year-old daughter at the Riu Palace Costa Mujeres in April when gunmen burst into the hotel's pool area. A firefighter has told how his family were forced to flee for their lives after a gun battle erupted just metres away from their sun loungers during an £8,000 dream holiday in Mexico. Colin Nulty, his wife, and their 14-year-old daughter had been looking forward to relaxing by the pool with cocktails at the Riu Palace Costa Mujeres. Instead, they found themselves hiding under a lounger as shots rang out. 'We were sunbathing by the side of the pool and positioned right next to the Tequila Bar, near to where they serve the drinks, as that was our usual spot,' Colin told The Mirror. 'Our daughter had just left us to go upstairs. My wife and I decided to go for a cigarette at our usual spot down the ramp to the beach. Gunfire erupted and my wife and I instinctively ran back to our sun lounger and hid behind while crouching on the floor. "My wife was crying, and people were running everywhere trying to hide behind something. I messaged my daughter whilst hiding, telling her to stay in the room, stay quiet, and lock the door as there is a shooting going on.' Colin, from Bolton, waited for a pause in the gunfire before rushing to see if anyone needed help. 'I have advanced trauma care skills,' he explained. 'I assessed the scene and told my wife I was going to see who had been shot and if I could help them. No shots had been heard for a while, so I deemed this a suitable risk if it saved a life. 'I approached the bar, scanning for gunmen, and I could see the man on the floor was displaying what we term in the services as 'injuries incompatible with life.' He was already past help. "It is at this moment that a man with a gun came out of the male toilet door, and he was very agitated but in control and scanning for threats. In hindsight, he seemed trained and held his weapon in a controlled manner. "He shouted at me to go away and also shouted at a group of American teenagers who were filming the events unfolding on their mobiles.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Realising the danger, Colin rushed back to his wife. The family later barricaded themselves in their room, terrified. After the ordeal, TUI offered to move them to another hotel, but en route they learned of another shootout at their proposed new resort, the Princess Hotel. They returned to their original hotel and flew home the next day. 'It was horrific and terrifying without a doubt,' Colin said. 'The fear of thinking you are in the middle of a terrorist attack of some kind is scary indeed. We were unaware until some time after the incident that it was an undercover police operation gone wrong, so, of course, we thought it was terror-related.' The incident has had lasting effects. Colin revealed his wife has since been diagnosed with severe PTSD: 'These events had a big impact on my wife's daily life and still do to this day. It has had a massive impact on the dynamics of the home and day-to-day life of going out and walking our dogs. Everything has changed since the holiday. "My wife has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with Severe Emotional Dissociation. She is on the waiting list to receive treatment and counselling.' Riu Hotels and Resorts said the shooting was part of an 'operation carried out by the Prosecutor's Office targeting a group of drug dealers in the area,' with armed individuals entering the hotel grounds. Colin has since been refunded eight days of his trip – worth £3,873.57 – plus a £1,000 TUI voucher, but he insists it's not enough. 'We were refunded exactly eight days of the holiday, their reasoning being we had a nice time up until the shooting incident. 'Initially, TUI was responsive to emails and I had many phone conversations with a handler. However, I have never received anything in writing from them acknowledging the incident, or anything saying they are refunding or compensating. 'They have since refused to answer any of my correspondence or comment on this case with any other companies or media offices that have contacted them.' Frustrated, Colin has turned to ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents, and plans to take the case to small claims court. 'I only ever asked for a full refund of the holiday, but TUI's refusal has left me no choice other than to go through ABTA and then small claims court. They have made it so hard for us and they do this intentionally hoping I will just stop, but I won't.'
BBC News
20-06-2025
- BBC News
Bolton family's dream Mexico holiday 'ruined by hotel shoot out'
Colin Nulty was lying by the pool on his family's dream holiday in Cancun, Mexico, when moments later he heard gunshots being fired just metres away. He and his wife "dived for cover", hiding behind their sun loungers. Colin's 14-year-old daughter had gone back to the room so he frantically texted her to tell her to lock the door and not to go out on the balcony. "Chaos" broke out, he said, with "lots of screaming" and "people running in every direction"."It was terrifying. You could tell it was gunfire straight away. Everybody dived for cover."When the shooting stopped Colin, who worked in the fire service for 25 years, got up and ran to see if he could help a man lying on the ground who had been shot. However, he quickly realised the man "was beyond any help" as he had been shot in the head and was already dead. "At that point someone came out of the toilet just next to where his body was, and he was pointing a gun and shouting," Colin, 41, said he sprinted back to the sun loungers and grabbed his wife and they ran down a nearby grassy embankment to take cover where a lot of other holiday makers were also hiding. Minutes later pool staff cleared the area and the couple had to walk past the man's body again to go back to their room. They found their daughter there "terrified and shaking", he said. She had heard the gunshots. The Nulty family from Bolton had flown out to stay at the Riu Palace Costa Mujeres on 28 March, a year after Colin's mother had died. He had used his mother's inheritance to fund the five-star luxury holiday in her the shooting on 3 April the hotel went into lockdown with a helicopter circling in the sky said the Navy arrived quickly and they did room-to-room searches as "there were still gunmen on the loose".The family did not leave their room that night. "We kept the door locked. We were still scared," he following day he said he found out from the local media it was a shootout between a cartel and undercover police. The holiday firm TUI, who the family had booked with, organised a transfer to another hotel but there was another dramatic a stop-off at a shop on route to the "safe" hotel, Colin said they saw on the news an "ongoing" shooting there which was also between a gang and undercover were taken back in disbelief to the Riu said: "We didn't even feel safe on the roads; we felt exposed."The family tried to just "make the best" of the rest of the trip but he said they were "on edge" all the time and felt vulnerable. Colin said the hotel did not increase security after the shooting and he felt anyone could have entered the complex from the beach. He said the hotel had felt "unsafe" from the offset with people on the grounds with no wristbands who clearly "shouldn't have been there" but they were on friendly terms with the hotel BBC has contacted Riu for a comment. "The holiday was a disaster from start to finish," Colin said. "It was the holiday from hell."He said the experience had left his family "traumatised".Since returning home, Colin has been trying to recover the £7,000 costs for the getaway from said the company had only offered £3,940 cash and a £1000 TUI voucher as compensation. TUI has been contacted by the BBC for comment. "I just want a refund for what was a disastrous holiday," Colin said he was determined to take the case to the small claims court because the holiday had been a gift from his late mother. "I just feel we've been wronged in a massive way," he Foreign Office said drug-related violence in Mexico had increased over recent years with some areas of the country having a high crime rate due to fighting between rival organised crime said there was a risk of being caught in the crossfire although risks were lower in tourist advised travellers to use reputable companies and seek advice from local authorities or the hotel and be aware of your surroundings at all times. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Sun
19-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
TUI to launch first ever hotel in lesser-visited African country known for its beach resorts
TUI is opening its very first hotel in Côte d'Ivoire - an African country with beautiful beach resorts and rainforests. In fact, more than 20 hotels are set to open in Africa in the coming months and years. 4 4 Managing Director TUI Hotels & Resorts confirmed the opening of brand-new TUI hotels across Africa. In Côte d'Ivoire, also known as the Ivory Coast, there's the construction of the very first TUI Blue hotel in the country which is scheduled to open in 2027. Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa has long stretches of beach, the most popular being Assinie-Mafia, Grand-Bassam, and Jacqueville. Plage de Monogaga is a beach known for being the most beautiful and preserved in the region. Along the coastline are coconut trees and thatched-roof restaurants. There's also the Banco National Park, a rainforest preserve with hiking trails. The country generally experiences a rainy season from June to October with average annual temperatures ranging from 24 to 28C. TUI Blue is also planning to open its first hotel in The Gambia, which will open at the end of this year. The resort will have 140 rooms and a unique location along Kotu Beach. TUI very recently expanded, adding more hotels in Africa to their portfolio. Inside the Riu Palace Boavista hotel in Cape Verde TUI Hotels & Resorts' currently has 97 hotels with over 30,000 rooms across eight countries. The Mora Zanzibar has just celebrated its first anniversary - it's described as offering "contemporary luxury with highly personalised and flexible service." The resort has 250 rooms, that overlook Muyuni Beach, as well as a huge outdoor swimming pool and infinity pool. Inside are four restaurants to choose from - Jijan, offering Thai, Chinese and Japanese dishes, the Beach Club Grill and the buffet restaurant, as well as the Jua Grill. There's also a kids' club and activities like football, tennis and snorkelling. Holidaymakers from the UK fly there with British Airways to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport in Zanzibar with a stopover at Hamad Airport in Doha. New hotels have opened across Cape Verde which Deputy Travel Editor explored and discovered Maldives-like beaches. Kenya has also been dubbed 'one to watch' with new flights, cheap hotels and 35C winters. And here are our travel team's favourite TUI holidays from African beach resorts to European bucket list hotels.
The Sun
11-05-2025
- The Sun
Our dream Mexico holiday was ruined by GUNFIGHT in hotel swimming pool – we barely made it out alive
A FAMILY hid in terror behind sun loungers as they watched a man gunned down and killed at the poolside. Colin Nulty, his wife, and 14-year-old daughter were looking forward to their dream holiday in Costa Mujeres, Mexico, last month. 9 9 9 They forked out nearly £8,000 for the two week TUI package but disaster struck shortly after arriving at the Riu Palace hotel. Across the first couple of days, Colin noticed some "sketchy" characters roaming the complex, offering illegal drugs and vapes. Colin told The Sun: "It's a relatively new complex, it's supposed to be one of the best ones you can go to in Mexico with TUI. "It was a nice first few days but there were some sketchy characters offering people drugs and vapes, which are illegal in Mexico, but they didn't have hotel wristbands on so we were cautious of them. "They were interacting with my daughter which I didn't like, and demanding services from the staff like free drinks and food. "But the staff were friendly with them it was as if they knew them." Despite being suspicious of some dodgy activity, the family tried their best to make the most of the trip. One morning Colin and his wife were relaxing by the poolside, while their daughter chilled up in the room. Within seconds the tranquil atmosphere was shattered by the horrifying sounds of gunshots. Colin recalled their terror as a shoot out began just metres away from their sun loungers. Missing student found dead after trying to save pal from riptide on vacation "Shooting just erupted, I heard the gunshots first and everybody just dived down straight away," he said. "We didn't know what was happening, we were hiding behind the sunbeds, my wife was crying, she was very scared, I messaged my daughter straight away and told her to lock the door and don't come out, go hide. "I was thinking it could be a terrorist attack. "After the shooting died down, I thought I might be able to help somebody. "I've been in the fire service for 25 years I've got training in trauma care." Colin continued: "I ran to where it was, just a few metres away. There was a guy on the floor, he was very obviously dead with a gunshot to the head. "He was in full view of us, but then a guy came out of a toilet about a metre away with a gun in his hand. "He was screaming at me to go away, I ran back, I got my wife and we went down a grassy embankment where more people were and we took cover. 9 9 9 9 "10 minutes later the hotel staff told us to clear the area, and to do that we had to walk past this guys dead body. "I recognised he was one of the sketchy characters. We were all locked down in our room, and told there were two gunmen still on the loose. "When we got to the room our daughter was absolutely terrified, white as a ghost, shaking, she could hear the shots and thought it was a room to room terrorist thing. "The police helicopter was circling above the hotel and officers did room to room searches." The next day the family learned it had been part of an undercover police sting. "The hotel didn't even tell us, we found out about it in the papers," fumed Colin. 'ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED' The dad-of-one praised TUI for sending reps out to the hotel so quickly. But he slammed Riu Palace for their "blasé" attitude and claimed staff said "these things happen". After the horror the family were offered to stay at another Riu hotel, which they understandably refused. They were told they could be transferred to different accommodation called The Princess Hotel. However, in an unimaginable turn of events - disaster struck again. "Before we even got there, we stopped at a shop and saw on the news there was an ongoing incident there," explained Colin. "Someone was kidnapped, it was another undercover operation, and there was a shoot out between gang members and police. "The man who was being kidnapped was shot dead and this is at the entrance of our new 'safe hotel'. "We went back to the original hotel, the TUI rep couldn't believe it." NIGHTMARE TRIP The traumatised family decided to stay put and get on with things at their original hotel. Yet again, they were faced with another nightmare - in the form of an inappropriate waiter. "We went down to the restaurant for a meal. We were leaving and then noticed our daughter was being cornered by a waiter," explained the furious father. "He was thrusting his phone into her hand and she looked really scared, she told me he was asking for her Instagram, Facebook, but she said she couldn't get away so she gave him her TikTok. "While I was talking to her he was messaging her, I went mental at him in the restaurant, he said 'I live in Mexico what's the worst that can happen'." The hotel manager sacked the employee on the spot and gave the family a free room upgrade, as well as some complimentary massages. We didn't feel safe, we've seen someone shot dead and now there's a waiter accosting our 14-year-old daughter." Colin Nutley But it wasn't enough to convince the Nultys to stay. They decided to pack their bags and fly home the next day. "We didn't feel safe, we've seen someone shot dead and now there's a waiter accosting our 14-year-old daughter," said Colin. "After the waiter was suspended, during the night I was denied service by the staff. They wouldn't deliver any food. "Someone came outside our room at 2am and turned off our AC. It was a holiday from hell." After landing back in the UK, the family sought a refund and compensation. While the TUI team accepted things had gone very wrong, they company told the family the events had been out with their control. They refunded Colin for the eight days missed of their holiday, as well as offered compensation for the incident involving their daughter. The total refund came to roughly £3,000, but Colin expected more. "I thought the refund would be a given. But they said if we don't take their offer now we wouldn't get anything," he added. The dad-of-one told how they had also shelled out a lot of money for private kennels which was ultimately wasted. TUI was contacted for comment. By Annabel Bate, Foreign News Reporter FROM brutal beheadings to violent kidnappings, the cartel wars of Mexico's Caribbean coast have unleashed horror just yards away from luxury resorts. Violent drug gangs are waging a bloody war in the tourist haven of Quintana Roo - visited by thousands of Brit holidaymakers each year seeking paradise. Half a million UK tourists visit each year to areas like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. But the stretch of paradise is blighted by cartels battling for power and territory. In recent years, Brit holiday hotspots in the country have been plagued with grisly murders by gang members. The murderous gangsters have been creeping out of the Mexican barrios, or neighbourhoods, and closer to the tourist enclaves. But all have become brutal warzones as the cartels attempt to gain power and territory - putting tourists in the crossfire. Tourists have bared witness to assassins executing their rivals and even gunning down holidaymakers. The state where popular holiday destinations are located, dubbed Quintana Roo, has seen an unbelievable 633 murders last year. This unbelievable figure is a 6.4 per cent increase to 2022 and more than in the whole of the UK. The Foreign Office warns that several tourists have been affected by gang-relating shooting since 2021. Just last week a group of assassins gunned down a man in a horror attack on a packed Cancun beach before fleeing on jet skis. The 30-year-old victim was shot dead by four armed thugs in front of terrified tourists at the five-star Hotel Riu on Wednesday morning. Two of the gunmen fled the scene on jet skis while the other two left on foot. Shocked holidaymakers ran for cover as the killers attacked the man who has been identified as a Mexican national, according to local media. Shortly after the attack, the hotel released a statement to clarify the victim was not a hotel guest or an employee. The man was reportedly in charge of the jet skis, Turquesa news reports. Among those killed by Mexican cartels have also been Brits, including estate agent Chris Cleave, who was shot dead in front of his 14-year-old daughter. Chris, from Cornwall, had just driven out of his gated community in Playa del Carmen when he was killed and had received death threats before he was assassinated. He is thought to have been targeting for standing up to extortion attempts by a cartel. Two arrests were made over Mr Cleave's death, a 30-year-old and 18-year-old. A few months ago 12-year-old boy was shot dead by gunmen who also fled on jet skis in Cancun. The child, only named as Santiago, was sitting with his family at Caracol Beach when he was struck by multiple stray bullets. He was treated at the scene and rushed to hospital, where he later died, with the Quintana Roo State Attorney General's Office saying the assailants were targeting rivals over drug sales. In March last year, two Americans were murdered in the crossfire of two gangs, with two others in the group taken as hostages. The group of four had travelled through a region labelled as dangerous by the US government when they were ambushed. In an odd turn of events, cartel gunmen left a letter accusing those who killed the Americans of breaking cartel rules. It's thought the Americans were killed by members of the Scorpions Group. Three women are still missing after travelling from Texas into Mexico two weeks ago to sell clothes. Sisters Maritza Trinidad Perez Rios and Marina Perez Rios have disappeared with their friend Dora Alicia Cervantes Saenz. 9 9
Fox News
04-04-2025
- Fox News
Criminal drug ring nabbed, gangbanger killed near popular Cancún resort frequented by American tourists
A criminal drug ring in Mexico that frequently terrorized a resort near Cancún popular with American tourists was dismantled following an undercover sting operation by law enforcement. The state attorney general's office in Quintana Roo reported that the undercover operation, carried out in a hotel located in Costa Mujeres, in the Continental Zone - aka the Hotel Zone - nabbed a criminal drug-dealing gang, whose members, they say, "constantly came to this establishment to demand services and threaten staff and sell drugs." The agency said that upon arriving at the lodging center in the pool's bathroom area, police agents were attacked by two alleged members of the gang, who were carrying firearms. One of the alleged criminals lost his life after attempting to attack the agents, while another was arrested. Investigators also seized two firearms, one of them described as exclusive to the military. Following the altercation, police searched to find the other gang members. Reports show the incident allegedly happened at the Riu Palace hotel in Costa Mujeres, though the resort would not confirm if this was related to its establishment. "Due to this case being under investigation and due to the prosecutor's office being the one who sent the official statement, we just can share its own statement," the resort shared in a statement with Fox News Digital. "This was an isolated situation, it was solved. The only person who lost his life was a suspected criminal." This latest incident comes after a University of Pittsburgh student vanished off a beach at the Riu Republica hotel in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, during a spring break trip in March. Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student from Loudoun County, Virginia, was last seen walking on a beach outside the five-star resort in the early morning hours of March 6. It was later revealed that the college student went swimming during a red-flag warning with a male hotel guest, who was considered a witness in Konanki's disappearance, but has since been cleared of any wrongdoing. The parents of Konanki sent a letter to La Policia Nacional, the Dominican national police force, nearly two weeks following their daughter's disappearance, stating that "Dominican authorities have concluded that Sudiksha is believed to have drowned." Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment. Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
