'Several Americans among 12 killed' after a bus carrying Royal Caribbean cruise ship passengers to Mayan ruins in eastern Mexico flips over on a highway

Twelve people died when a bus carrying tourists crashed in Mexico Tuesday
Civil defense source told AFP privately that most of the dead were Americans
Seven Americans and two citizens of Sweden are among the injured
Crash, which left another 18 injured, happened in the state of Quintana Roo

Published: 17:52 GMT, 19 December 2017 | Updated: 05:50 GMT, 20 December 2017

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Several Americans are believed to be among the 12 people who died when a bus carrying tourists from US cruise ships crashed in Mexico Tuesday.

A civil defense source told AFP privately that most of the dead were Americans, although Mexican authorities said they do not have further details of the nationalities of those killed.

The bus was carrying tourists from the ships to the Mayan ruins in southeastern Mexico when it ran off the road.

Several Americans are believed to be among the 12 people who died in the bus crash

Deadly crash: This video frame shows an injured tourist lying on the road next to the overturned bus she was traveling in, in Mahagual, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, Tuesday

At least 12 passengers died when a tour bus carrying cruise ship passengers flipped over on a highway in eastern Mexico early Tuesday

Video from the scene shows the vehicle resting on its side in vegetation off the two-lane highway (pictured)

The crash, which left another 18 injured, happened on a highway in the state of Quintana Roo, located on the eastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula and well known as home to the Caribbean resort city of Cancun.

Seven Americans and two citizens of Sweden are among the injured, according to Quintana Roo state Civil Defense spokesman Vicente Martin.

The dead and injured included 'citizens of the United States, Sweden and Brazil,' a brief statement said without further information on numbers from each country, or their ages.

The bus was carrying 31 passengers on a straight stretch of road with little traffic. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

Twenty-three of the passengers had arrived on the ships Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas, cruise owner Royal Caribbean Cruises told AFP.

The bus was headed for a resort town called Mahahual that features archeological ruins.

'We are doing all we can to care for our guests, including assisting with medical care and transportation,' the cruise line tweeted.

At least seven Americans and two citizens of Sweden are among the injured

A spokesman from the US Embassy in Mexico says diplomats are working with local authorities to determine whether American citizens were among the fatalities.

In video images from the scene, shown by CTV News, the vehicle is resting on its side in vegetation off the two-lane highway, with some survivors lying on the pavement and others walking around.

American cruise ship passenger Chris Brawleym of Haslet, Texas, says he didn't see the accident, but his bus of tourists came upon the scene minutes after the crash.

He says a convoy of buses was carrying people from the cruise port at Mahahual and heading to Chacchoben. He says they had been driving about 35 to 40 minutes before the accident.

Brawley says the sky was clear and the road was dry, and he did not see any other vehicles involved.

People receive medical attention after a bus crash at the Chetumal-Mahahual highway

Royal Caribbean Cruises says 27 passengers from the Celebrity Equinox (left) and Serenade of the Seas (right) were on the overturned bus

Landmark: The bus was on its way to the ruins at Chacchoben, about 110 miles south of the popular resort town of Tulum

He did not see the crash, but says that 'the bus clearly lost control somehow as there were swerve marks all over the road surface.'

Costa Maya Mahahual, the bus company involved, said in a statement that the bus was carrying tourists who had arrived to the coastal town of Mahahual aboard a cruise ship.

In addition to the tourists, a guide and driver were aboard the bus, the company said.

Quintana Roo is the Mexican state that receives the greatest number of international visitors, with many headed for Cancun's beaches and legendary Maya ruins.