10 Brits among 55 cruise passengers robbed at gunpoint in St Lucia
Ten Britons were among 55 holidaymakers who were robbed at gunpoint while on a cruise stop-off in St Lucia.
The passengers were among those enjoying a two-week trip on the Celebrity Cruises vessel, Eclipse, which had originally set off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
They made a stop at St Lucia, and headed off on one of the boat's shore excursions to the Botanical Gardens in Soufriére.
While on the bus, the tourists were robbed at gunpoint by three masked men.
St Lucia Tourism Minister, Lorne Theophilus, described the incident as an "unfortunate and horrible scenario", but, while jewellery and money were taken, officials said nobody was hurt in the incident, reports Sky News.
Local police have arrested three suspects in connection with the incident.
The Daily Telegraph reports that a statement from Celebrity Cruises said: "We are thankful that none of our guests was injured in this unfortunate event, and will continue to provide them with any support they may need."
However, an Eclipse passenger wrote on the Cruise Critic forum, suggesting that one woman broke her leg. It read: "We are on the Eclipse. Yesterday we were ported in St Lucia. One of the ship tours was robbed at gun point by three masked gunmen. We were not on the tour, but friends were. They said one woman fell and broke her leg; no one else was injured. All their money and jewellery were taken."
According to the Independent, Matthew Beaubrun, chairman of St Lucia's tourist board, said: "This is a rare incident. This is such an important industry for us that we need to respond. We have taken it very seriously at the highest level and I know the Minister's been in touch with the Prime Minister."
According to the Daily Mail, the robbery took place less than a mile from the Sugar Beach Resort, which Matt Damon had exclusively hired for guests attending his wedding vow renewal service.
The paper reports that some locals on the island criticised the amount of time and resources that were taken up by the police operation surrounding the A-list event, where guests included the likes of Robert De Niro and Ben Affleck.
Damon reportedly booked out the resort's 78 rooms under the name of Mr Naff. The actor and his wife, Luciana Barroso, 37, married in a low-key ceremony at New York's City Hall in 2005 but were unable to celebrate with a honeymoon due to filming commitments.
The Eclipse vessel had departed from Florida on 6 April, and had docked in Castries harbour on Friday for a 12-hour stop.
Its 14-day tour of the Caribbean will see the 2,800 passengers call in at Barbados, Grenada and Aruba before heading back to Florida on Saturday 20 April.
The news comes just weeks after a British couple, Ann Prior, 59, and her husband Phillip, 72, were shot in a street robbery that went wrong in Barbados.
The couple, from Suffolk, had been visiting Bridgetown during a stop-off on a thee-month round-the-world cruise. Both survived the attack, but incidents like these have led some to start questioning the safety of the Caribbean islands.
The Foreign Office travel advice states: "There are incidents of petty crime including thefts from hotels, yachts and holiday homes. There have also been some incidents of violent crime including assaults and murder."
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