by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:55 PM ET, Thu July 13, 2017
A tourist from New Zealand visiting St. Maarten died Wednesday after she was thrown backward by a jet blast from a plane taking off at the local airport.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the 57-year-old woman was holding on to a fence outside Princess Juliana International Airport when the engine blast from a Boeing 737 departing for Trinidad blew her off her feet and she struck her head on the concrete pavement.
Emergency personnel were quickly on the scene to help the woman, but she died a short time later. St. Maarten director of tourism Rolando Brison told the New Zealand Herald he has already spoken to the family of the woman.
"I met with the family of the deceased this evening and while they recognized that what they did was wrong, through the clearly visible danger signs, they regret that risk they took turned out in the worst possible way," Brison said.
"At this time I only wish to express my deepest sympathy to the family and loved ones while we continue to investigate what transpired just hours ago."
The area of beach behind the St. Maarten airport is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region, as planes fly low as they land and aircraft taking off produce massive gusts of wind that blow around travelers who stand along the fence.
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To protect tourists, the local government installed warning signs about standing too close to the fence.
Despite the warnings, a young woman was seriously injured in 2012 after she was thrown into a concrete barrier by the blast of an arriving JetBlue airplane.
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