8 Haitians, 1 Dominican killed when car plunges into canal

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic – A government doctor in the Dominican Republic says a sedan overloaded with people lost control on a tight turn and careened into an irrigation canal, killing eight Haitians and one Dominican.

National Institute of Forensic Science doctor Miledis Almonte says three others were taken to the José Maria Cabral y Báez hospital in Santiago after Monday’s crash.

Witnesses said the sedan was crammed with 17 people in the northern Navarrete area, where Haitian migrants frequently enter the Dominican Republic seeking to escape hyperinflation and food shortages on the poorer side of Hispaniola island.

Many pay between $50 and $150 to be taken to the neighbouring Dominican Republic to find work in the construction and agriculture sectors.