DANGEROUS THRILLS

Tourist Killed by Jet Engine Blast on Caribbean Beach

The 57-year-old woman was thrown into a wall after getting too close to the nearby airport.

A New Zealand woman visiting the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten has been killed after getting too close to a jetliner taking off from a seaside airport. The 57-year-old woman was reportedly clinging to a fence at the popular Maho Beach next to the airport to feel the power of a jetliner as it ascended, though the force of the blast threw her into a wall instead. A police spokesman said the woman was taken to a hospital after the incident on Wednesday and declared dead. The spokesman, Ricardo Henson, said tourists often ignore warning signs urging visitors to stay clear of the fence next to the Princess Juliana International Airport, which is less than 200 feet from the local beach. “Many people come just for the thrill of this main attraction, and unfortunately this time someone lost their life,” he told the Associated Press.