Sixteen cruise ship passengers injured in bus accident on Dominica

[mercedes]

A bus full of cruise ship passengers on a shore excursion in Dominica careened off the road late Monday, injuring everyone on board.

All sixteen of the passengers, who had arrived at the island on the Celebrity Summit, were taken to a local Dominica hospital late Monday, according to a statement from the line. Five were treated and released, while 11 were admitted overnight.

"The guests sustained injuries, including broken bones, bumps, bruises and lacerations, however, three guests were more seriously injured," the line says.

The line says five staff members from the ship, including a nurse, stayed with the 11 passengers that remained at the hospital. Additional Celebrity personnel, including specially trained members of the company’s Guest Care Team and an additional nurse, arrived in Roseau, Dominica this morning and are escorting the most seriously injured passengers on a flight today to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with our injured guests and their families," says Dan Hanrahan, president and chief executive officer of Celebrity Cruises. "We’ll continue to do our very best to assist them in the aftermath of this unfortunate accident."

The guests had signed up for the "Caribbean Cooking Adventure" shore excursion, in which they joined local culinary experts to learn how to prepare and present traditional Caribbean dishes. The three-and-a-half hour tour concludes with a scenic drive through Roseau before returning to the pier.

The Summit is on a seven-night Caribbean cruise that departed San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Saturday.

[DebbieandJerry]

We really don't know how fortunate we are until we read about fellow travelers. Let's continue to hope and pray that they recover quickly and swiftly - with minimal pain.

[Shari2]

That is so tragic. I pray they will all be OK. It's nice that Celebrity sent a nurse and staff members to be with them.