Elgin Barron, a Guelph resident and an employee of Cambridge's Com Dev International for 14 years, is one of five Canadians killed in a blast at a Mexican hotel.

Barron who according to neighbours was long-divorced and had no children, grew roses and was also an avid runner and motorcycle enthusiast.

Neighbour Paul Robinson says "I was shocked, you don't think it's going to hit this close to home."

He says he will miss his friend and describes Barron as "just a very quiet, solid guy, always had a smile, always had a wave."

Fellow employees at the satellite manufacturer remember him as a committed and hard worker.

Another employee of Com Dev, Larry Smith, was among those injured in the explosion. His wife, who also works at the company, is with him in Mexico.

Elsewhere across the country, John Charmont, 9, and his father Christopher Charmont, 41, from Drumheller, Alta. were also killed.

Malcolm Johnson, 33, a realtor from Nanaimo, B.C. was married just a couple of days before being killed in the blast. His new wife and on-year-old daughter were not injured.

Darlene Ferguson, 52, from Ardrossan, near Edmonton, Alta. was in Mexico for her son's wedding. She died after being rushed to hospital.

Six Canadians were injured, including two who are in critical condition. Two Mexicans were also killed.

The blast occurred on Sunday, shortly after 9:30 a.m. local time at the 676-room Grand Riviera Princess Hotel in Playa del Carmen, on the Yucatan peninsula south of Cancun.

Sixty people from Waterloo Region were vacationing at the resort at the time including Mark Bingeman, president of Bingemans. They were part of an appreciation trip for clients of 570 News radio.

Peter Travers, program director of 570 News, describes what he saw, "There was debris everywhere, I saw someone carry a victim out…I saw three or four people lying on the ground getting triage from guests and from staff."

The powerful explosion, which blew out windows and ceiling tiles and sent paving stones flying 50 metres from the epicenter, is believed to be an accident.

Mexican officials are blaming the blast on a build-up of natural gas, according to CTV's Omar Sachedina.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon offered Canada's condolences to the families of the victims and says Ottawa will watch the situation closely.

However, he has shied away from advising Canadians to avoid Mexico as a travel destination.

With files from The Canadian Press