Cabo tragedy/news wire

Mexican Glass-Bottom Boat Capsizes

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A glass-bottom boat capsized off the Mexican resort
town of Cabo San Lucas, killing three American cruise ship passengers,
Carnival Cruise Lines said Saturday.

Paulina Armijo, 54, of New Mexico; Elizabeth Steven, 64, of Alaska;
and Dorothy Farnman, 32, whose home state was unknown, drowned Friday
after the 18-foot-long boat capsized near the Stone Arch, a coastal
landmark in the western state of Baja California. Their hometowns were
not released.

Carnival said 17 passengers from its Elation cruise ship were aboard
the locally operated water taxi when it capsized shortly after 9 a.m.
The Elation had left Los Angeles on July 8 for a week-long cruise in
Mexican waters, the company said.

Seven other Carnival passengers were injured in the accident, but none
seriously, said Cabo San Lucas Red Cross official Moises Ruiz.

It was unclear what caused the boat to tip over. Witnesses told local
television stations that the boat grazed rocks, but Ruiz said a large
wave flipped the boat.

The boat was one of hundreds of glass-bottom water taxis that shuttle
tourists around Cabo San Lucas' coast, allowing passengers to watch
the sea life below.

Police were trying to determine whether the boat was overloaded. The
boat's captain, Pedro Alazan, was detained by police Friday and
remained in custody pending the investigation.

Alazan told television reporters that all his passengers were wearing
life jackets, but that many had not fastened the buckles and lost them
in the water. But Ruiz said many of the passengers were never issued
life vests.