A New Jersey man has become at least the eighth person to die while vacationing in the Dominican Republic in the past year, CBS News reports.
Joseph Allen, 55, was a healthy man who went to the Dominican Republic often, his family told the outlet. During a stay at Terra Linda Resort last week with friends, he complained he was hot while at the pool and then went to take a shower and rest.
{mosads}He was found dead the next day, CBS News reports. His cause of death hasn’t been released.
The State Department confirmed Allen’s death to Fox News. In a statement, the department said, “We offer our sincerest condolences to the family for their loss.”
Allen’s brother also confirmed his death of his “best friend” in a post on Facebook.
Allen is one in a line of American tourists that have died in the Dominican Republic in recent months, prompting concerns and questions on whether the incidents were connected. Officials cited signs of pulmonary edema — when the lungs fill with fluid — in several of the cases, Fox News reports.
FBI officials have joined in on the investigation into whether the tourist’s deaths could be connected to poisoned or altered alcohol.
The U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo has not said there is any proof that the incidents are linked.
In a statement, Robin Bernstein, the U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic, said the embassy is “actively working with the Government of the Dominican Republic and the private sector at the highest levels to ensure that U.S. citizens are safe and feel safe” while in the country.
The news of Allen’s death comes after reports that at least 47 Jimmy Buffett fans who traveled to the country became violently ill during a trip in April. A few of the fan club’s members tested positive for salmonella when they returned from the vacation, but no official cause of their illness has been revealed.