Bus Plunges Into Ocean off St. Lucia; 16 Die

[malaise]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bus-plunges-ocean-off-st-lucia-13-die-14931897#.Tr2iFPLDB6Q

A minibus carrying mourners from a funeral plunged off a cliff into the ocean in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia, killing 16 people, authorities said Friday.

The dead include an infant, a pregnant woman and the bus driver, 47-year-old Michael Alexander, who apparently missed a turn in the road and plunged 50 feet (15 meters) down a cliff, said Chief Fire Officer Lambert Charles.

Police said they are investigating what caused the Thursday night accident in the southwest village of Choiseul that shocked this island of approximately 160,000 people.

Foreign Minister Rufus Bousquet, who represents Choiseul in Parliament, described the accident as "a human tragedy of unprecedented proportions."

"They know each other, so any calamity within that community, all the people there would feel a sense of sadness," he said. "It was a very grave accident, one that we have not heard of in the history of transportation of St Lucia."