Bus plunges into ocean off St. Lucia; 16 die

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.A young girl who was found alive in the debris died en route to a hospital, he said.Crews are still looking for a 17th person they say is missing.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.All the dead were from Fond-Lor, within the community of Dugard in the village of Micoud on the islands east coast, said Police Corporal Trevor Constantine.