A Long Island pizzeria owner joins the growing list of tourists who have died suddenly in the Dominican Republic.
Vittorio Caruso, 56 of Glen Cove, died June 17 while staying at the Boca Chica Resort in Santo Domingo, the US State Department confirmed to Fox News Friday.
His sister-in-law, Lisa Maria Caruso, said he he suddenly went into respiratory distress after “drinking something.”
The Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, Francisco Javier Garcia, said the deaths were not part of a mysterious wave of fatalities.
"We want the truth to prevail," García said. "There is nothing to hide here."
An estimated 3.2 million Americans visited the Dominican Republic in 2018.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
American tourists are canceling their trips to Dominican Republic following deaths: report
“Two more Americans — a man from Kansas and a woman from Pennsylvania — died during vacations in the Dominican Republic, amid a recent spate of tourist deaths in the country, according to a new report,” reports the New York Post.
The families of Chris Palmer — a 41-year-old Army veteran from Kansas who died on April 18, 2018, and Barbara Diane Maser-Mitchell, a 69-year-old retired nurse from Pennsylvania who died on Sept. 17, 2016 — came forward to Fox News to report their deaths,” adds the Post.
The spat of deaths and illnesses sparked the FBI to deploy agents to the island; probing pools, air conditioners, food, and water at luxury resorts to determine the cause of the mysterious ailments.
About 40 seniors, who just graduated from Deer Creek High School in Edmond, traveled to the Dominican Republic on June 8 to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana, a parent told KOTV.
At least six high school graduates from Edmond, Oklahoma, fell ill while visiting the Dominican Republic earlier this month.
According to The Oklahoman, a group of about 75 people stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana, where two American tourists died after falling ill.
On June 11, about six members of the group got sick after having dinner at the same restaurant, Deer Creek Public Schools Superintendent Ranet Tippens told The Oklahoman. Most of the travelers did not fall ill, and most of them are back in the U.S.
Government data shows that the Dominican Republic welcomed more than 6.5 million visitors from around the world in 2018.
In the first two months of 2019, the country saw more than 600,000 tourists - an increase of 8 percent compared to the same time last year.
Of those 600,000, 65 percent came to the Dominican from North America, mainly the U.S.
if Dominican authorities do not determine the cause of death for the victims, and soon, it could potentially be just as damaging to the island's tourism industry as the May 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalie Holloway was for Aruba.
TOURISM IS MAJOR INDUSTRY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, which welcomed 6.5 million tourists in 2018 according to the DR Annual Tourism Exchange.2 million Americans visit its beaches each year.The State Dept has put a level 2 travel advisory on the Country.
Of the recent deaths that have become publicly known so far, Dominican investigators said five were caused by a heart attack. In the case of the other two — an engaged Maryland couple found dead on May 30 — a final report on the cause of death was pending.
Woman, identified by a relative as Miranda Schaup-Werner, a 41-year-old psychotherapist from Allentown, Pa., collapsed on May 25 after having a drink from the mini-bar at the all-inclusive Bahia Principe Hotel in La Romana, her relative told Fox News.Yvette’s Monique Sport, 51-yrs old of Glenside, Pa., died from a heart attack in June 2018 during a trip with her fiancé to the Bahía Príncipe in Punta Cana, D.R.“ She drank from the mini-bar, took a a shower, and wanted to retire for the evening”. Finance woke up next morning and noticed she was unresponsive.According to the US State Dept.6th American tourist dies during Dominican Republic Vacation. Died last July (2018) in Punta Cana.Robert Wallace, fell ill almost immediately after drinking a scotch from the minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.David Harrison, 45 yrs old, Died July, 2018. Dominican Authorities/ Death Certificate: state natural deathCause of Death: EDEMA PULMONAR, INFARTOS DE MIOCARDI, ATEROSCLEROSIS GRADO IV DE LAS ARTERIAS CORONARIAS.
Five days later, engaged couple Edward Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Day, were found dead in their room by a resort employee who went in after they failed to check out. They had coincidentally arrived the same day Schaup-Werner passed away.
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday confirmed the death to Fox News, saying: "We can confirm the recent deaths of three U.S. citizens in La Romana,
the Dominican Republic - Nathaniel Edward Holmes, Cynthia Ann Day,
and Miranda Schaup-Werner.
We offer our sincerest condolences to the families for their loss.
The U.S. Embassy is actively monitoring the investigations by Dominican authorities into these tragic deaths.
We stand ready to provide assistance as requested."
Couple vacationing in Dominican Republic found dead in hotel room
The waves were calm and peaceful when Surely Miller and her partner Karan Bindra first got into the water at Sosua beach late Tuesday afternoon.
Living so close to the ocean’s beauty was among the perks of moving from Slatington to the coastal province of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic six months ago, where the couple came with barely any money and turned it into a growing yoga practice and a new home for them and her three sons.
#9 American Tourist.
Joseph Allen, 55 of New Jersey reportedly died in Dominican Republic last week (6/13/19). He was found dead in his hotel room on June 13 at a resort in Sosua,D.R.Witnesses state he complained about being hot at the pool and went to his room for a shower - but wasn’t feeling well afterwards and decided to lie down for the night. When his friends asked the hotel for a wellness check the next morning, he was dead.
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