a1678: 14 dead in Haiti boat accident (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

    PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 15 (Reuters) - A small water taxi sank in rough
seas during a trip from the Haitian mainland to the island of La Gonave,
killing 14 people, local radio reported on Monday.
     Two children aboard were saved by local fishermen who saw the craft
listing on Friday, according to Radio Metropole.
     The boat, called "Power of God," was headed from the coastal city of
Archaie to the large island northwest of the capital on Friday, witnesses
told the radio.
     Boats in Haiti are notoriously unseaworthy but are frequently used as
a means of travel between towns or from the mainland to islands.
     In September 1997, a ferry went down about 160 feet (50 metres) off
the town of Montrouis, killing more than 150 people. Three months later, 40
people died when a sailboat loaded with passengers and goods sank between
La Gonave and the mainland.