Ottawa-area bride dies in balcony collapse on honeymoon in Mexico

OTTAWA -- A tragic picture has emerged of the final moments of a Carleton Place woman's life before she fell to her death in Mexico on Wednesday.

Shannon Amy Guy, 24, newly married to Paul Guy, was excited about a tropical getaway after getting married in August.

But the honeymoon barely had time to get started.

As the mother of two posed for a picture with another couple on third-floor balcony of the room at the Tulum Oasis resort, the glass panels gave way.

Debra Simonton, a Loveland, Colo., resident at the resort, came upon the scene right after it happened.

"The new groom was in the doorway to the room taking a picture of his new bride," Simonton said. "They went to give him the best shot of the ocean behind them, and the glass broke out from behind them."
Shannon died at the scene while two others were taken to hospital.
Paul was in rough shape, Simonto said.

"He was severely in shock and had actually fallen on the ground in the spa area and was alone when (another guest) found him," Simonton said. "He had been hitting the walls, he was just really messed up and shouldn't have been left alone."

Simonton blamed flimsy glass panels for the accident, though hotel staff suggested alcohol played a role -- something the woman disputed.

A friend of the bride said Shannon's top priority was taking care of her young daughters, Kaydence, 3, and Harmony, eight months.

"She was dedicated to her kids 24/7," Amanda Scantland said, fighting tears. "(She was) the type of mom that would do anything for her children and it was always about her children. It was never about her."

As news of the tragedy spread Friday, condolences continued to pour in from grieving friends.

"No words can describe the pain that you and your family are enduring right now, but I hope you can use them as strength to get through the days that will follow you ahead," wrote a friend on the Facebook page of Ted Murray, Shannon's father.

Canadian foreign affairs officials have confirmed the death of one Canadian and injuries to two others but have not released any further details.

Maldives police stop presidential re-vote

Male - Maldives sank further into political disarray on Saturday when police blocked officials from conducting a presidential re-vote, saying holding the election would violate a Supreme Court order.

It's the latest blow to the young Indian Ocean democracy, which has only about three weeks before the end of the current president's term. If his replacement is not elected by then it will spark a constitutional crisis.

The court had annulled results of the September 7 election, agreeing with a losing candidate that the voters' registry included fictitious names and dead people, but it set conditions for a re-vote that police said elections officials did not meet.

Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek attempted to hold the election as scheduled, but on Saturday morning he said the ground floor of his building was full of policemen stopping his staff from carrying election material outside.

Thowfeek accused the police of overstepping their legitimate role.

India charges 33 aboard armed U.S. 'anti-piracy' ship

A crew member of the vessel in Indian police custody 

CHENNAI, India (TNP) - India has charged 33 men aboard an armed ship operated by a U.S. maritime security firm for failing to produce papers authorizing it to carry weapons in Indian waters, police said on Saturday, a move that could trigger diplomatic tensions.

The captain and the chief engineer were not among those arrested in Friday's action.

The crew have been charged with illegal procurement of diesel and possession of arms and ammunitions without required documentation.

"The captain kept saying that he would produce the required documentation, but whatever was produced was inadequate," a police officer, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters from the southern city of Chennai.

Police are still checking the authenticity of the documents on the ship, Chacko Thomas, a spokesman in India for Virginia-based AdvanFort, which owns the Sierra Leone-flagged ship Seaman Guard Ohio, told Reuters.

India detained the ship last week and it was being held in the port of Tuticorin along with its crew and armed security guards, which included British, Estonian, Indian and Ukrainian nationals.

The ship had 10 crew members and 25 armed security guards from India, Britain, Estonia and Ukraine. Two of the crew members were not arrested and were allowed to stay on board the ship to carry out maintenance work.

The U.S. embassy in New Delhi could not be immediately reached for comment.

UPDATE: Laos Airline plane crash

Edmonton Today - Edmonton News Blog of Oilers' Oil Country: UPDATE: Laos Airline plane crash: No Canadian on board plane that crashed in Laos Bangkok - Lao Airlines officials say contrary to earlier reports, there was no Canadian a...