12 reported dead as foreign tourist bus crashes in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — At least 12 people died when a bus carrying cruise ship passengers to Mayan ruins in eastern Mexico flipped over on a highway early today, officials said.

Seven Americans and two Swedes were among the injured, Quintana Roo state Civil Defense spokesman Vicente Martin said. He said authorities hadn't yet established the nationalities of the dead.

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

Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises said in a statement that passengers from two of its ships, the Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas, were involved in the crash. The company expressed its sympathies and said it was assisting with medical care and transportation.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said U.S. officials were working with local authorities to determine whether American citizens were involved.

Martin said investigators were working to determine the cause of the crash, which occurred as the bus was on its way to the ruins at Chacchoben, about 110 miles south of Tulum.