Punta Cana Airport Shuttle Accident Kills 2 Canadians & Injures 13

Punta Cana, about an hour from Cumayasa in the Dominican Republic, sadly became a fatal scene after a bus accident on March 2. The popular vacation destination unfortunately saw the death of two Canadians, and many folks were injured. Read on for more details.

Two Dead & Many Injured

Per Winnipeg City News, the bus carried many international tourists when it went off the road. Besides the two people who died, at least 13 other passengers suffered injuries during the wreck. Naturally, EMTs and emergency responders raced to the scene. And, the dead and injured ended up transported to local hospitals.

The Canadian Embassy quickly acknowledged the situation and started providing consular help to the families. Apparently the passengers went on the trip associated with Sunwing Vacations, part of the WestJet Group. However, a third-party company actually operated the bus.

The Passengers Were International Guests

CTV News provided an update on YouTube, and they identified Nexus Tours as linkied to the provider transferring guests from the airport to their hotels. While officials initially took a bit of time in announcing the citizenship of the victims, the network confirmed the fatalities were foreign guests.

Additionally, the report noted that injured people might be higher than the initial 13 reported people. Correspondent report, Sean explained:

WestJet says it’s unable to release information on where the guests are from. It says travel to Punta Cana continues to operate as scheduled. We continue to seek more information on this breaking news.

Naturally, the tragic bus accident near Punta Cana raised a lot of questions about how safe the roads are. Many people worry about the high-speed highways that connect the main airports to the big resorts. But for now, the focus remains fixed on the injured and getting the two Canadians back home to their families.

Viewers React

In the comments section, some viewers pointed out the bus arrangements and one of them wrote, “It’s Nexus Tour bus, not Westjet bus. Many resorts and airlines (including Air Canada Vacations) in Mexico/Caribbean use Nexus tours for airport resort transportation, not just Westjet.”

Others felt terribly sad for the victims.

Here are a few more responses from the discussion that followed:

• Prayers for the passengers of this tragic bus crash, injured or not, this would be traumatic. Such a horrible tragedy for the families and loved ones of those who didn’t survive.
• Cancun, Cuba, Puerto Vallarta, and now the DR. Canadians can’t catch a break to get some sun.
• Why waste time & money to go someplace to pretend to be rich and famous & have locals wait on you hand & foot?!

What are your thoughts about the tragic bus accident near Punta Cana involving people looking forward to a vacation in the Dominican Republic? Let us know in the comment section below, and remember to check back with us as we often cover travel news and updates.