10 killed in road crash in S Mexico

Three vehicles crashed into each other and burst into flames on a highway in south Mexico's Guerrero state, killing 10 people, including five members of a vacationing family visiting from the U.S., officials reported on Saturday.

The accident, involving two SUVs and a motorcycle, took place shortly before midnight Friday, on the highway linking the beach resorts of Acapulco and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, the state's Secretary of Civil protection said.

The five tourists and the driver of their van and his assistant were also killed in the crash. Two boys, aged 18 and 8, who were traveling with the family, survived the accident and were taken to a nearby hospital.

According to the national daily Excelsior, the family was headed to the town of Atoyac de Alvarez, and were merely 15 minutes from arriving at their destination when the accident occurred.

The remaining victims included the 76-year-old driver of the second SUV and two men who were on the motorcycle. All three were from the town of Tecpan de Galeana, where the accident took place.

Officials are investigating the cause of the accident.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)