Christmas toll so far: 16 dead, all in traffic accidents

Santo Domingo.– Sixteen persons died, all in traffic accidents, during the Christmas Eve holiday and the first hours of Christmas Day, the Emergency Operations Center (COE) reported Thursday.

According to the second bulletin issued by the COE, the total number of persons affected so far reached 492, including 21 intoxicated by alcoholic beverages and two affected by food poisoning.

The main cause of injuries, as in previous years, were traffic accidents, with a total of 212, that involved injuries to 469 persons. The deaths included 13 motorbike accidents.

During the same period last year there were a total of 14 deaths and 209 persons affected, which shows an increase in the number of incidents registered.