At least five people have been shot dead and twelve injured after a shooting by a lone gunman at the BPM festival in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Someone has come into the club in Playa Del Carmen and opened fire. 4-5 dead and many wounded. Stay in ur fuckin hotel if you're here at BPM — JACKMASTER (@jackmaster) January 16, 2017

@CarlosLoret tiroteo hoy hace media hora en la zona de bares de playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, calle 12 entre 5/a y el blue parrot — Octavio Aguilar (@davichoweb) January 16, 2017

Shooting at blue parrot, we are on lockdown. Pray. — StephenJohannson (@TheRaveGoD) January 16, 2017

I'm shaking. I saw 3 people dead. Club shooting at Blue Parrot — g e n n 💿 (@g_livesfordance) January 16, 2017

Two Canadians, one Italian and one Colombian are among the dead, reported AFP.

#BREAKING Two Canadians, one Italian, one Colombian among dead in Mexico shooting: official — AFP news agency (@AFP) January 16, 2017

Three of the dead were security guards at the Blue Parrot nightclub killed in the early hours of Monday morning while trying to protect the patrons inside the venue, according to an official statement posted on the BPM festival Facebook page. Playa del Carmen is a popular tourist destination located 70km (43.5 miles) south of Cancun in the state of Quintana Roo.

The Attorney General of Quintana Roo Miguel Ángel Pech Cen will give a press conference at 9am local time (2pm GMT), according to local journalist Haide Serrano.

09:00 hoy el fiscal Miguel Angel Pech Cen dará rueda de prensa p informar sobre investigaciones de hechos Blue Parrot de Playa del Carmen — Haide Serrano (@HaideSerrano) January 16, 2017

Update: Quintana Roo Attorney General's office confirms shooting at Blue Parrot in #PlayadelCarmen. No word on how many dead or injured. — kendis gibson (@kendisgibson) January 16, 2017

Dance festival ‘BPM’ was taking place in the city with Elrow holding a closing party at the venue. Video taken from a nearby bar shows people running away from the scene.

Balacera hace 30 minutos en Playa del Carmen. Vimos algunos balaceados vivos en varias avenidas.. @Reforma@El_Universal_Mx@lajornadaonlinepic.twitter.com/WeeSChFSiG — Marcos A. Vazquez (@weirdmarcos) January 16, 2017

Balacera en club nocturno de zona turística de #PlayaDelCarmen deja al menos tres muertos y varios heridos @velezizquierdopic.twitter.com/3RHQzKVk44 — Rolando Medina (@RolandoMeVa) January 16, 2017

Just witnessed wild shootout! Scary! Goosebumps! #playadelcarmen #shooting A video posted by FH (@farrehagge) on Jan 16, 2017 at 12:11am PST

“We heard what appeared to be gunshots but a worker told us to calm down, it was just fireworks. People started getting up and again the shots started,” a witness told Dazed Digital. “My friends saw the shooter running across the back of the club shooting into it through a metal rail. One of my friends saw a person shot and bleeding.”

“Once the shooting stopped we jumped over that same fence and ran on the beach about 10 blocks. We were helped by some other party goers by letting us hang out in their hotel for a few minutes. They saw a guy shot in the head.”

Caos en las calles de playa del carmen. NO SALGAN. Chaos on the streets. STAY SAFE. #blueparrot#bpmpic.twitter.com/ZHJZRq7PD3 — Pipe Llorens (@pipellorens) January 16, 2017

Previous reports of a second shooting in the area at another popular nightclub, Jungle, have been dismissed as untrue.