Hurricane Kills 19 in Belize Boat

INDEPENDENCE, Belize — Nineteen people, including 17 Americans, were killed when Hurricane Iris ripped into a tourist boat, flattened homes and devastated crops in this tiny Central American nation, officials and witnesses said Tuesday.

A government spokesman said the Americans and two Belizeans died in the sinking of the Wave Dancer, a 40-foot diving boat carrying U.S. tourists and a Belizean crew.

The vessel broke loose from a dock in Independence, a port 116 miles south of Belize City, and went down Monday night as Iris slammed into Belize packing 140-mph winds.

Belizean officials described Iris as the most powerful storm to hit the country in 40 years.

Of the 28 tourists and crew members on the Wave Dancer, eight people survived, rescuers and witnesses said. At least one person was said to be missing.

Many residents fled inland before the storm blew ashore about 80 miles south-southwest of Belize City.

After hitting shore, the storm rapidly weakened, and by Tuesday morning it had been downgraded to a tropical storm with wind speeds of 35 mph, the U.S. National Weather Service said.