Hurricane Lane pounds Mexico's Pacific coast

Los Cabos (Mexico), Sept 16: Hurricane Lane barreled into Mexico's Sea of Cortez today, threatening to lash a popular tourist resort with high winds and heavy rain after killing a small boy in a rockslide in Acapulco.

Gathering power swiftly, Lane packed winds of almost 110 mph blowing down trees in the city of Manzanillo as it churned north-northwest along the coast.

''Lane is expected to become a major hurricane later today,'' the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said.

Lane steamed toward the northwestern state of Sinaloa as it verged on turning into a Category 3 storm, which can cause structural damage and heavy coastal flooding.

A hurricane warning was in force in the Baja California beach resort of Los Cabos, popular with US vacationers for its golf courses, yachting and big game fishing.

Rescue coordinators said they would decide today whether to evacuate some 600 residents from poor neighborhoods on the resort's outskirts deemed at high risk of flooding.

Some 150 vacuum cleaner salespeople at a worldwide convention in Los Cabos flew home early but delegates from Florida were unfazed and stayed on.

''We're used to hurricanes in Florida so we don't scare easy,'' said salesman Abe Sharqawi yesterday. He said a Category 2 hurricane was not strong enough to scare him. ''Anything up to a Category 3 storm and we throw a party,'' he said, sipping beer on the terrace of a bar.

SMALL BOY KILLED

Heavy rains from Lane caused a rockslide in Acapulco that crushed a house and killed a 7-year-old boy.

The eye of the storm is due to come ashore late on Sunday near the northwestern mainland town of Los Mochis without making a direct hit on Los Cabos.

The Baja California peninsula, which extends south from the US state of California, is still reeling from Hurricane John, which killed at least three people when it struck there earlier this month.

The hurricane was traveling at about 10 mph (15 kph) through the Sea of Cortez, enclosed on three sides by land, where hurricanes typically lose strength.

Some tourists were taking no chances and headed for the airport to fly home.

''I don't want to be here when the hurricane hits. We came to fish, not to get blown off the face of the Earth,'' said Robert Compton, 58, a retired plumber from Las Vegas, who cut short his vacation by three days.

The storm was still likely to lash the resort with rain and high winds over the weekend.

The hurricane center said Lane was (320 km) southeast of Cabo San Lucas early today morning.

Los Cabos, made up of the two towns of Cabo San Jose and Cabo San Lucas, sent thousands of tourists packing two weeks ago when Hurricane John hit, but had a narrow escape.

Hotel operators were optimistic they would be spared again.

''We're going to wait,'' said Gerardo Tovar, a receptionist at the luxury Melia hotel in Cabo San Lucas. ''If it turns into a strong hurricane, we will evacuate the whole hotel and put (guests) into a safe place.''

REUTERS