At least 39 people were killed and 27 others injured when a bus carrying immigrants bound for the U.S. fell off a cliff in Panama. According to initial investigations, the driver of the vehicle overshot the intended exit and, in attempting to correct course, lost control. The bus collided with another vehicle and ended up plunging off the cliff.
#TRAGEDIA unas 15 personas pierden la vida y al menos otras 51 resultaron heridas en un accidente de tránsito de un bus que transportaba migrantes en la vía Los Planes de Hornito en Gualaca. El mismo cayó a un precipicio. #Panamá pic.twitter.com/NUJSVhtT5p
— PanamaTimespty (@PanamaTimesPTY) February 15, 2023
Among the deceased are some children. At least 10 other children between the ages of four and 11 are hospitalized, three of them in critical condition. The two drivers of the bus were Panamanians with valid licenses, according to police. At least one of them also lost his life in the accident.
Ten minors hospitalized, three of them in critical condition
La directora del SNM @Gozainesamira, se refirió al accidente de tránsito registrado en Gualaca, provincia de Chiriquí, donde fallecieron más de 30 personas. https://t.co/b4DhSVHEaI
— Migración Panamá (@migracionpanama) February 15, 2023
The bus departed from the Darien region of Panama, bordering Colombia. It was carrying 66 people of different nationalities, Panama's National Migration Service said in a press release. According to other migrants, in statements to La Estrella, there was a caravan of 16 buses. Their destination was the shelter Los Planes de Gualaca, in the province of Chiriqui, on the border with Costa Rica.
“Fueron 16 buses que salieron [desde Darién], nosotros éramos el quinto [bus, los migrantes accidentados] eran venezolanos”, explicó uno de los migrantes que se encuentra en Los Planes de Gualaca, en la provincia de Chiriquí.
📹: Larish Julio pic.twitter.com/QGTIgvu2jm— La Estrella | Panamá (@EstrellaOnline) February 15, 2023
Over 37,000 migrants from the jungles of El Darien
Just a few hours earlier, Minister of Public Security Juan M. Pino reviewed the migratory situation in Panama, "a country of transit," in his words. According to ministry data, more than 37,000 migrants have arrived from the jungles of El Darien so far this year (250,000 in 2022), 900 the night before the accident. All of them are risking their lives to flee from their countries of origin to try to reach the United States.
El ministro de Seguridad Pública, Juan M. Pino, afirmó que más de 37 mil migrantes han pasado por las selvas de El Darién. Las nacionales más frecuentes son Haití 14,086, Ecuador 9,536 y Venezuela 5,014. #MigraciónSegura🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/524BPX4d8N
— Ministerio de Seguridad Pública de Panamá (@MinSegPma) February 15, 2023
