Sadly, special moments sometimes take a sudden turn into tragedy.
In a devastating accident, a bus full of cruise ship travelers on its way to visit Mayan ruins in Mexico flipped over on Tuesday, leaving 12 dead and up to 20 injured.
Several of the travelers aboard the bus in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo were participating in cruises organized by the Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises, AP reported. The company said passengers from its ships, Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas, were on the bus.
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.
— Royal Caribbean Group (@NewsfromRCgroup) December 19, 2017
The state prosecutor’s office reported that the dead were 11 tourists, one child, and a Mexican tour guide. Thirteen of the passengers have been hospitalized, six in the city of Tulum and seven in Chetumal.
Vicente Martin, spokesman for the Quintana Roo state Civil Defense agency, said seven Americans and two Swedes were among the injured. Authorities have not yet determined the nationality of the deceased or the cause of the crash.
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At the time of the accident, the bus was headed toward the highly-visited ruins at Chacchoben as part of a convoy that departed from the cruise port at Mahahual at about 9 a.m.
The bus was on the road for 35 or 40 minutes before the accident occurred. Chris Brawley, a passenger on Serenade of the Seas who was on another bus en route to Chacchoben, noted that “the bus clearly lost control somehow as there were swerve marks all over the road surface.”
Brawley said the sky was clear and the road was dry, and there was no sign of another vehicle’s involvement in the deadly crash.
Another witness to the scene of the of the crash described the bus as “in pretty sad shape.”
Royal Caribbean tweeted they are assisting with medical care and transportation for those affected.
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.
— Royal Caribbean Group (@NewsfromRCgroup) December 19, 2017
The seven-day cruise left from Fort Lauderdale on Friday. The tourists were scheduled to arrive in Cozumel on Wednesday.
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