Miami, Dhu-AlHijjah 27, 1437, September 29, 2016, SPA -- Tropical Storm Matthew was nearing hurricane strength Thursday as it moved toward the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao in the southern Caribbean Sea. The so-called “ABC islands” of the Dutch Caribbean are outside the typical hurricane belt and are usually spared from tropical storms, making the arrival of Matthew a rare event for the area. The Aruba weather service said the storm was expected to pass about 200 kilometers north of the island. Matthew moved over the eastern Caribbean on Wednesday, causing at least one death. Officials in Saint Vincent said a boy was crushed by a boulder as he tried to clear a blocked drain. Near noon Thursday, Matthew had maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour (kph) and was centered 350 kilometers northeast of Curacao and 450 kilometers south of Puerto Rico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Tropical storm-force winds extended out for 335 kilometers from Matthew’s eye. The storm was forecast to become a hurricane later Thursday before turning to the north toward Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti. --SPA 20:23 LOCAL TIME 17:23 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w