New Year's Day celebrations result in 129 deaths, 1,315 injuries in L. America

Rodolfo Palomino, director of the Road Police of Colombia, said Friday that during the New Year's Day celebrations in his country, 36 people died and 45 were injured.

He added that of the 36 deaths, 31 were murder victims and the remaining five were killed in traffic accidents. Moreover, 45 people were injured while igniting fireworks.

According to Paraguay's National Police, at least 13 people were killed during the celebrations. Worse still, the figure could rise during the weekend.

Information provided on Friday by the National Police show that the majority of the 13 casualties were killed in traffic accidents or by electric shock or suicide.

The police said the number of injured was as high as 233 for different reasons, including traffic accidents.

Jorge Melendez, director of El Salvador's Civil Protection, said Friday that a total of 19 people died and 96 others were injured during the New Year's Day celebrations in the Central American country.

In Honduras, the National Direction of Criminal Investigation said on Friday that at least 34 people died in different violent occurrences and road accidents. A 9-year-old girl who was hit by a car was among the victims.

The Dominican Republic's Center of Emergency Operations (COE) said Friday that during the New Year's Day celebrations, seven people died in traffic accidents and one person died of alcohol intoxication. Meanwhile, 114 others were injured or intoxicated.

The Panamanian National Police said Friday that seven people died as the result of different violent causes, including street fights, traffic accidents, or drowning, Kazinform cites xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version.