Two Swiss die in Caribbean armed robbery
Two Swiss citizens have been robbed and murdered in the Dominican Republic, according to local reports.
The foreign ministry on Monday confirmed the deaths, adding that Dominican authorities had formally identified the victims.
El Nuevo Diario, a local newspaper, reported that a woman aged 47 and a man aged 66, originally from Switzerland, had been found dead at their hotel in the tourist area of Boca Chica, one hour by car from the capital, Santo Domingo. They were killed during the night of Friday to Saturday.
The couple had been in the country for two months and planned on spending the winter there. The Dominican Republic is part of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. The western third of the island is occupied by Haiti.
Police were reported to have arrested one man, an escaped convict, who admitted the crime. His accomplice is still on the run.
At the end of 2009, 5,574 citizens of the Dominican Republic were living in Switzerland and 1,910 Swiss nationals were living in the Dominican Republic.
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