Updated

Authorities in the Dominican Republic say a bus carrying hotel workers has crashed into a truck, killing at least eight people and injuring more than a dozen.

Civil defense director Victorian Guzman says the bus hit a tractor-trailer rig late Thursday near the popular tourist zone of Punta Cana in the eastern part of the country. He says the rig had broken down and was parked on the road.

Officials say the bus was carrying more than 40 hotel employees from the town of Bavaro who had just gotten off work. Guzman says several people are in serious condition.

The Dominican Republic has the second-highest traffic-related death rate in the world, with nearly 42 deaths per 100,000 people.