Passengers who were traveling on two Royal Caribbean cruise ships were involved in a deadly bus crash in Mexico, a spokesman for the cruise line told ABC News.
The tour bus crashed in the southeastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday shortly before 10 a.m. local time, according to a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.
At least 12 people, including a minor, were killed in the crash, according to the Quintana Roo government.
The passengers aboard the bus were American, Italian, Swedish and Brazilian, according to a statement from the Costa Maya port, which is near the crash site. The bus belonged to the port and crashed at kilometer 5 of the Mahahual-Cafetal highway, the statement said. Emergency services and medics arrived on the scene immediately after the crash, the state government said in a statement.
Multiple people were injured and transferred to four hospitals, and five of those passengers have been discharged, according to the statement. Representatives from the port, the government and insurance companies have been dispatched to each hospital to ensure that “all actors involved are being helped, supported and informed,” the statement said.
The tour bus in the crash was carrying guests from Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas, said cruise spokesman Owen Torres.
“The news from Costa Maya about a bus accident involving our guests is heartbreaking,” he said. “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 is in contact with local authorities, Torres said.
Royal Caribbean tweeted that it had 27 guests aboard the bus, which was headed toward the Chacchoben Maya ruins, about 110 miles south of Tulum. According to the Quintana Roo government, 31 people were on board the bus. A tour guide and driver were among those on board, the port said in a statement.
The Celebrity Equinox is on a seven-night cruise that departed from Miami on Saturday and had scheduled stops in Key West, Florida; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; and George Town and Grand Cayman in the Bahamas, according to Royal Caribbean. The Serenade of the Seas departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday, with stops in Key West; Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya; and Cozumel.
During a briefing Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert said officials were following the news of the bus crash “very closely” and described it as “certainly a tragedy.”
Mission staff from the U.S. are en route to Mexico to assess the situation and determine whether any Americans were injured or killed, she said.
Further details on the crash were not immediately available.
ABC News’ Conor Finnegan, Ben Gittleson and Scott Withers contributed to this report.
