‘Multiple U.S. Citizens’ Killed in Mexico Tour Bus Crash
The crash killed 12 people total.
The US State Department has confirmed that “multiple US citizens” died in a tour bus crash in Mexico that carried passengers from a Royal Caribbean cruise. From Fox News:
A bus carrying Royal Caribbean cruise ship passengers looking forward to a day at the Mayan ruins on Tuesday flipped over in southeastern Mexico, killing 12 people, including five Americans, reports said.
U.S. State Department confirmed on Wednesday “multiple U.S. citizens” were among the 12 people killed in the bus crash. Those included a Florida grandmother and her 11-year-old grandson, Sun Sentinel reported.
The bus carrying 31 people — 27 of them passengers of Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas — were heading to Chacchoben, about 110 miles south of Tulum, from the port at Mahahual just after 9 a.m. when it crashed on a narrow, two-land road with no shoulder or guardrail. The convoy of buses left the port and were on the road for nearly an hour.
Quintana Roo state prosecutor’s office confirmed 11 tourists and a Mexican tour guide were dead. Officials have not released their nationalities. Benhamin Shababo, 18, told the Sun Sentinel that his grandmother, Fanya Shamis, was killed. His added that his cousin may also have died.
“We don’t have really concrete information,” Shababo said. “We’re all scared. It’s just really scary to process this in my head that possibly something really bad happened to them.”
Seven Americans and two Swedes were among the 18 injured, said Vicente Martin, spokesman for the Quintana Roo state Civil Defense agency. Seven injured tourists returned to their boat Tuesday night while 13 remained hospitalized.
“The news from Costa Maya about a bus accident involving #CelebrityEquinox & #SerenadeoftheSeas 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,” the cruise line said in a tweet.
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