Dominican officials say at least 11 dead in bus collision

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: At least 11 people died and over 70 were injured Thursday when two buses carrying tourism workers collided on a road between two resort towns in the eastern Dominican Republic.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the buses were carrying employees of the Paradisus Punta Cana Resort and the Coco Bongo nightclub when the collision occurred at dawn on the road between Higuey and Veron.

Authority spokesman Diego Pesqueira said the number of fatalities could increase "because we still have many injured in various hospitals and some are serious."

 Officials were investigating what caused the accident. Pesqueira said a front tire apparently blew out on one of the buses, sending it into the opposite lane.

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.

Last year, a bus carrying hotel workers in the same eastern area crashed into a truck, killing eight people and injuring more than a dozen.