A van transporting children to school in the Caribbean island of St. Vincent hit a utility pole and plunged off a cliff into the sea early Monday, killing at least five people, NBC News reported.
The accident happened as the van, carrying about 20 people, traveled to the capital of Kingstown, where the children attend secondary school.
Five children died and two were missing, while the radio station said seven people died.
Rough waters were making the search and rescue difficult. The nation's prime minister said the ceremonial opening of Parliament, slated for Monday, would be postponed by at least one day.
"Families are very distraught," Montgomery Daniel, a parliamentary representative, told the radio station.