Christmas Tragedy: Multiple U.S. Citizens Dead in Mexican Tour Bus Crash

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Category: World News
Published on Wednesday, 20 December 2017 09:13
Written by Janet Walker

A Miami grandmother and a child are among the dozen fatalities of a tour bus crash carrying Royal Caribbean cruise passengers heading to the Mayan Ruins in southeast Mexico, for a day of sightseeing, state department officials have confirmed.

The crash, which occurred Tuesday, December 19, on dry pavement and clear skies, happened on a stretch of twisting, curving road with no guardrail or shoulder. Pictures from the following tour buses which left the Costa Maya Cruise Port directly following the doomed vehicle showed the full size luxury passenger bus flipped on its side.

Twenty-seven passengers from two Royal Cruise Line Ships the Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas, were involved in the crash as they headed to the ruins at Chacchoben, located about 110 miles south of Tulum.

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The RCLcorp Twitter feed posted this condolence and notification message:

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. @RCLcorp posted at 11:37AM - December 19, 2017.

First responders on the scene has cordoned the area allowing for the medical teams to treat those injured and remove those who had died.

A convoy of buses were at the Port ferrying passengers to the popular tourist site of the ancient Mayan Temples, built by an indigenous people, dating back to 550 B.C. The stunning architecture and display of human ingenuity from what has been considered an uneducated and illiterate society actually changes the definition of intelligence and modernity.

Buses coming up on the crash site minutes after have said the bus driver lost control somehow and the road had black swerve marks on both sides. There was no mention of an approaching vehicles or other factors which could explain the driver’s inability to control the vehicle. The buses had been about 45 minutes into the trip when the accident occurred.

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In addition to the 12 passengers killed, another nine, seven Americans and two Swedes were among the injured.

State Department officials have begun the notification process.