Canadians aboard a bus that crashed in far eastern Cuba Thursday were not among the seven that were killed, Global Affairs Canada as confirmed.
In a statement provided to Global News Friday afternoon, the Canadian government wrote: “Cuban authorities have confirmed that no Canadians are among those who died in this bus crash. We are providing consular assistance to Canadians who are affected.”
The statement did not clarify how many Canadians were injured or involved in the crash.
“Our thoughts are with all those injured and the loved ones of those who died in this tragic crash,” the statement added.
Cuban media reported earlier in the day that the bus was carrying 18 Cubans and 22 tourists from Holland, Great Britain, France, Mexico and Canada when it crashed Thursday afternoon on a road between the cities of Baracoa and Guantanamo.
State-run provincial radio station Radio Guantanamo said three Cubans, two Argentine women, a German woman and a French man were among those killed in the accident.
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The names and nationalities of those killed and injured have not been confirmed by officials.
A local doctor, Yondris Reyes Dominguez, told Reuters his hospital received 31 people from the accident, including two children.
The driver told Radio Guantanamo that he lost control on the wet and winding road.
Cuban highways are poorly lit, narrow and rutted with huge potholes.
There were 750 deaths and 7,999 injuries in 11,187 accidents last year in the country of 11 million. Thursday’s wreck was the fourth major bus accident in a month.
— With files from The Associated Press, Reuters