"According to information of the Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, branch of the [Russian] embassy, a bus with 35 Russian tourists, headed to the airport, got into an accident. There are no deaths among our [Russian] citizens, but there are several people with injuries of various degrees," the embassy spokesperson said in a statement.
Later, the spokesperson said that there were 39 Russians on the bus. No specific numbers were given for the injured, who reportedly include children.
According to the Russian embassy, all the wounded are receiving medical assistance and are being taken to various Dominican hospitals. The Russians who were not injured in the bus accident are being taken to hotels.
Earlier, the Dominican Diario Libre newspaper reported that a bus with around 60 Russian tourists collided with a truck and then rolled over on Tuesday evening not far from the city of Higuey in the eastern La Altagracia Province. The accident led to the injury of over 20 people, including children, the newspaper said.
The Dominican Listin Diario newspaper said on Tuesday that the bus accident led to the injury of 17 Russians, seven of whom were in grave condition. The injured were taken to a hospital in the city of Higuey, the newspaper specified.
Later, the Dominican branch of the Russian embassy in Venezuela has confirmed that several of the 39 Russian tourists are in grave condition and are getting surgery.
"On November 26 of this year, a road accident occurred in the Dominican Republic involving a bus with 39 Russian tourists headed to the airport for a flight to Moscow. As a result of the accident, there are [Russian] citizens with injuries of various degrees … The [Russian] citizens who are in serious condition have been sent by helicopter to medical centers in the capital of the [Dominican] Republic, Santo Domingo, where they are undergoing emergency surgery," the embassy said in a Facebook statement.
The embassy added that the head of its Punta Cana office is in constant contact with hospital administrations, local authorities and the Anex Tour Russian travel agency, which organized the Russian tourists’ vacation.
"Tourists who do not need medical care have been accommodated in hotels. The embassy is keeping the situation under control," the Facebook release says.
Earlier, a source in the administration of the medical clinic in the city of Higuey in the eastern La Altagracia Province of the Dominican Republic said that the hospital was unable to verify the exact number of the injured Russians or their identity.
The Russian embassy in the Dominican Republic said immediately after the media reports that it was aware of the bus accident.
