Two boats collide in Bahamas Saturday, killing four, injuring 1

NASSAU, Bahamas -- A ferry boat and cargo ship collided in Bahamian waters early Saturday, killing four people and injuring 16 as they were traveling to a holiday celebration, officials said.

Rescuers ended their search for more victims from the accident, some nine miles southwest of Eleuthera island near the Exuma chain, in the Caribbean archipelago off Florida, local police said.

It was still unclear late Saturday whether anyone was missing.

The Sea Hauler ferry was carrying 194 passengers and seven crew members when it left the capital, Nassau, in calm waters Friday night, Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt said.

It collided at about midnight with The United Star, a 178-foot cargo ship carrying about 11 crew members and passengers, she said.

Four people were killed when they were pinned under a crane that toppled over on the ferry with the collision. None of the victims' identities have been released.

Fifteen people were taken to a Nassau hospital for treatment of injuries that included a fractured pelvis and broken limbs, hospital officials said.

About 200 people gathered at the Potter's Cay dock in the capital to wait for relatives or friends they hoped were among the survivors.

"I can't take it," shouted Sheliqua Munnings, 28, who said her mother was on the ferry. "I don't know what happened, if she is all right, I just don't know."

Police were brought in to control the swelling crowd as paramedics stood by in case more survivors needed treatment.

At least two returning survivors with unspecified injuries were taken in an ambulance to the hospital, but officials gave no further details.

The rest, draped in towels and dragging their soaked luggage, were boarded onto buses that took them to police headquarters for a head count.

"All I heard was BAM!" when the cargo ship hit and tore a hole in the ferry's hull, said passenger Michael Rolle, 32.

"There was no where to run. I made up my mind that we were all going to die."

Prime Minister Perry Christie called the incident a national tragedy, and pledged to investigate.

"We have to focus on the lessons that we can learn from this with a view to effecting whatever improvements are necessary," Christie said.

The Bahamas, with a population of about 300,000, comprises some 700 low-lying islands and more than 2,000 small cays off the coast of southern Florida.

It is one of the wealthiest countries in the Caribbean, with an economy based on tourism and the financial industry.