Thirteen Killed, 34 Injured in Cuban Truck Collision

Thirteen people were killed and 34 more injured Monday when two trucks retrofitted as passenger buses collided in eastern Cuba, local media reported.

The deadly crash took place in Santiago de Cuba province, Agencia Cubana de Noticias reported.

Five of the injured were in very serious condition, the report said. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

As part of Cuba's long-running economic crisis, the only Communist government in the Americas decided it was cheaper to turn trucks into people movers than to import costly buses.

In a country of 11 million, there have been more than 10,000 reported traffic accidents in Cuba in the past year, and 615 people killed.