Aid organizations have been arriving in recent hours Panama They have been deployed to Gualaca, Chiriquí province, due to the serious accident that occurred early Wednesday morning.
A bus with 66 migrants He was on his way to a shelter when the driver passed the entrance and when he tried to turn back he collided with another vehicle. So far, 39 deaths have been recorded, including minors.
At least 20 people have been taken to nearby hospitals with serious injuries in some cases.
At least 39 migrants have been killed in a road accident in Panama
“It is with great sadness that I receive the news of the traffic accident in Gualaca, Chiriquí,” some 400 km west of the capital, Cortizo tweeted. The migratedbefore “they lost their lives being transported from Darién to a shelter in this place,” said President Nito Cortizo.
It is with great sadness that I receive the news of the road accident in Gualaca, Chiriquí, in which 15 migrants lost their lives while being transported from Darién to the reception center in this place. The government of Panama is providing all medical care to the injured.
— Nito Cortizo (@NitoCortizo) February 15, 2023
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador has announced that it will coordinate with that country the Panamanian authorities the possible identification of Ecuadorian victims.
“This tragedy moves us and alerts us to the dangers of irregular migration, which poses grave risks to life and human dignity,” it said in a statement.
Official statement | about the tragedy that took place in #Panama: pic.twitter.com/gOlHSsHKU2
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador 🇪🇨 (@CancilleriaEc) February 15, 2023
Ecuador’s embassy in Panama announced that a total of 22 compatriots were in the damaged car.
The @EmbajadaEcuPan And his @aggregaduriapan We are in direct contact with the immigration authorities to learn more about the health condition of 22 compatriots who were on the bus that had an accident in Chiriqui province with 60 migrants of different nationalities.
— Embassy of Ecuador in Panama (@EmbajadaEcuPan) February 15, 2023
Thousands of irregular migrants arrive from Colombia, walking through the lush jungle, where a missing section of the Pan-American highway has never been built due to vegetation, rivers and swamps. Many die on that journey.
This 266 km long 575,000 hectare jungle frontier is a route fraught with dangers, such as wild animals, mighty rivers and criminal groups.
Despite this, and according to data from the Panamanian government, 248,000 people entered Panama through the Darién in 2022.
Source: Eluniverso
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