The local sporting fraternity is mourning the loss of a national athlete who died after the vehicle in which she was travelling plunged into a river in Jamaica.

Shirnell Ettienne, 31, of Point Fortin, who represented Trinidad and Tobago at several regional and international events, died on Monday after the vehicle in which she was travelling reportedly ran off the roadway and plunged into the Wag Water River along the Agualta Vale main road in St Mary.

According to a post on the Facebook profile TTgameplan, Ettienne, 31, was travelling with three other people in a Toyota Corolla Altis when tragedy struck near the Wag Water Bridge. The vehicle was heading west when its driver lost control while negotiating a left-hand bend and crashed into the river.