Holiday period blamed for 46 deaths

Santo Domingo.- The Emergency Operations Center (COE) yesterday reported 22 people had died between December 26 and January 1, with a total 46 fatalities during the holiday period.

It said there were 268 cases, of which 199 were traffic accidents, 53 from alcohol overdose and 15 from food poisoning.

COE director Juan Manuel Mendez attributed the increase in deaths to the mobilization by 800,000 people during the holidays, together with the mixture of "alcohol with gasoline," which in his view led to regrettable results.

He said 21 people were killed during last year’s holidays.