No fewer than 11 tourists from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship died while 20 people were injured in a coach crash in Mexico.
The accident happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Costa Maya, a stretch of Caribbean coast on Mexico’s eastern Yucatán Peninsula. The bus carrying the tourists veered off the road, flipped over and crashed.
The tourist guide who was taking the group to Chacchoben, a set of ancient Mayan ruins, was also killed bringing the death toll to 12. Early reports suggest a young child is among the dead. Seven Americans and two citizens of Sweden are among the injured, according to Quintana Roo state Civil Defense spokesman Vicente Martin. He said authorities haven’t yet established the nationalities of the dead.
People from Canada, America, Italy, Sweden and Brazil are also among those injured – five of which have already been discharged from hospital. The driver were also injured and police are waiting to interview him to find out what happened.
One report suggests a rear tyre may have blown out before the bus veered off the road and into an area of bushes. The bus was carrying 27 Royal Caribbean guests when it came off the road and rolled onto its side in the village of Mahahual.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. tweeted in a brief statement: “The news from Costa Maya about a bus accident involving Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas guests is heartbreaking. Our hearts go out to all those involved. We are doing all we can to care for our guests, including assisting with medical care and transportation.”
They added: “Our 27 guests were on a bus tour to the Chacchoben Ruins. We are working with the local authorities to learn more about the accident. We are doing all we can to help our guests.”
In a statement released in Spanish by Costa Maya Mahahual – a company that operates out of the popular vacation destination – it confirms that it involved one of their buses. It further states that their bus was carrying cruise ship tourists who were visiting the village of Mahahual in the early hours of this morning.
