Canadian tourist family among crash passengers

At least 12 people killed when bus flips on highway travelling to Mayan ruins

MEXICO CITY— Global Affairs Canada says at least one Canadian family has been affected by a bus crash in eastern Mexico that has killed an estimated dozen people.

The department says it is providing consular assistance to the family, but could not provide further details about how many Canadians were in the bus and whether they were killed or injured.

Authorities in Mexico say of the 31 people on the bus, at least 12 people were killed and18 were injured Tuesday.

The bus was carrying cruise ship passengers to Mayan ruins when it flipped over on a highway.

Quintana Roo state Civil Defence spokesperson Vicente Martin says seven Americans and two Swedes were among the injured, but says authorities hadn’t yet established the nationalities of the dead. Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises says in a statement that passengers from two of its ships, the Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas, were involved.

Video images from the scene show the bus on its side in vegetation off the two-lane highway, with some survivors lying on the pavement and others walking around.

Public Security of Quintana Roo state said in a statement that emergency responders took the injured to hospitals in Bacalar, Chetumal and Tulum.

The agency says Mexican officials have been in contact with consular offices to assist families of the victims and injured, including citizens of the U.S., Sweden and Brazil.