Dozens of serious accidents occurred in Costa Rica as residents took to the coast en mass during the Easter holiday break.

The number of fatalities reached 34 as of yesterday morning, according to Nacion.com.

The total – which includes two murders and two drownings over the weekend – rose from the 28 reported Saturday by Red Cross.

Red Cross only reports “on site” deaths. As further accident victims could pass away in the hospital and more fatalities might have occurred during yesterday's journeys home from the holidays (after this article was written), the final count after Easter Holy Week, or Semana Santa, will likely rise further still. Red Cross reported sending a total of 78 people in serious condition to hospitals.

As of the Saturday report, Red Cross workers had rescued 49 people in seaside and mountain areas, and on highways and roads.

Costa Rican Red Cross President Miguel Carmona called for greater “caution and respect for the law.”

This year's Red Cross death count was not far from last year's 31 or from the 27 deaths recorded in 2006.