Officials: At least 11 dead, 70 injured in collision of 2 buses in Dominican Republic

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic _ Dominican authorities say at least 11 people have died and over 70 have been injured when two buses collided between two eastern resort towns.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says the buses were carrying employees of the Paradisus Punta Cana Resort and the Coco Bongo nightclub.

Authority spokesman Diegeo Pesqueira says the collision occurred at dawn Thursday. He said the number of fatalities could increase “because we still have many injured in various hospitals and some are serious.”

Authorities are still determining what caused the accident, but Pesquieira says a front tire blew out on one of the buses before the collision.

The World Health Organization said in 2013 that the Dominican Republic had the world’s second-worst mortality rate from road accidents, with 41.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

The Associated Press