Hero hotel guests brandished poles as a rain of gunfire killed two near a Day of the Dead party in Mexico.
The rain of bullets caused hotel guests to run for cover after a fight broke out between drug gangs on a beach at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera resort. in Mexico.
Former NBC executive Mike Sington, who is staying at the resort told how guests were relaxing on the beach and playing volleyball when the incident happened.
He posted on Twitter : "Guests are telling me they were playing volleyball on the beach, gunman approached firing gun.
The holiday horror saw some guests run for cover, but others grabbed poles ready to defend themselves against the cartel attack.
Guests at the sunshine resort posted videos and photos of tourists hiding or nervously milling in the lobby and hallways of hotels during the incident.
One tourist told CNN: "I was by the pool when multiple successive gunshots occurred. It went on for a little while and everyone dove for cover.
"We manned the entrances to the basement and were given metal sticks, even a pedestal bathroom sink, to defend ourselves."
In a separate tweet he said of his partner: "He called me and men with machine guns stormed the beach.
"He is hiding in a room, but has no idea what to do. I don't know what to do."
Other guests feared for their lives and were forced to hide in their rooms and other areas of the hotel while an "active shooter" fired at the resort in Puerto Morelos, south of Cancún.
The holidaymakers staying at the hotel said they had been told to shelter after the gunfire rained down.
The Mirror told on Thursday how a concerned tourist whose partner tweeted as horrifying incident unfolded.
He said: "I am on call with the U.S. Embassy. If anyone can help, my husband and several others are at the Hyatt Ziva in Cancun.
"Men with guns stormed the beach and started shooting. Please spread the word and get help on this. I have no idea what to do..."
Warring gangsters reportedly faced off on a beach in Bahia Petempich, Puerto Morelos, the attorney general's office said.
It resulted in the killing of two men after tourists reported the shots on social media,
Police said a group of armed men carrying long guns had been seen earlier in the area of the Azul Beach hotel.
The attorney general's office in the state of Quintana Roo said rival gangsters faced off on a beach before the men were killed.
