Travel blogger and Instagram influencer Anjali Ryot was one of two foreign tourists killed in Tulum, Mexico, after being caught in the crossfire of rival drug gangs over the weekend.
via NYDN:
The other tourist was named as German national Jennifer Henzold, 35, the district attorney’s office in Quintana Roo state said. Three other tourists from Germany and the Netherlands were also injured as they dined in an outdoor restaurant on Tulum’s main drag.
Ryot was in Tulum with her husband to celebrate her 30th birthday at the Caribbean coastal town, according to media accounts. She and her husband, Utkarsh Shrivastava, had just grabbed some ice cream for dessert, her father told new agency Press Trust of India (PTI).
Ryot originally hailed from Himachal Pradesh. Her younger brother, Ashish, is now obtaining a visa so he can fetch his sister’s body from Mexico and bring her back to India for last rites, PTI reported.
She had worked at LinkedIn since July, and Yahoo before that, PTI said.
Three other foreign tourists were wounded in the shooting late Wednesday at a street-side eatery that has some outdoor tables, right off Tulum’s main strip, according to The Associated Press.
The German Foreign Office issued a travel advisory about the violence, advising its citizens “if you are currently in the Tulum or Playa del Carmen area, do not leave your secured hotel facilities.”
The gunfight apparently broke out between two groups that operate street-level drug sales in the area, according to prosecutors. The tourists were caught in the crossfire.
They say the Mexican government tries to keep incidents like this from making American press, but it’s important people are aware of what’s going on in such popular tourist destinations.
