In a bus tragedy in Panama, a country in Central America, a bus carrying more than 60 migrants fell off a cliff, killing dozens of them.
President of Panama Laurentino Cortizo posted on Twitter, “The Government sends its sympathies to the families of those died in this accident and reiterates its commitment to continue providing humanitarian aid and fair circumstances to cope with irregular migration.”
Due to the limited economic possibilities, natural disasters, and hazardous conditions in their native countries, migrants have set out on perilous journeys in the hopes of finding safety or a better life in other nations.
On the other side of Panama, close to the Costa Rican border, is where the Panamanian government normally relocates migrants who have through the Darien Gap. The National Immigration Service employees as well as two drivers are frequently present on buses that migrants pay for. An immigration official present indicated that the buses occasionally travel in convoys to assist deter people smugglers.
The bus allegedly missed the entrance to a migrant shelter and was attempting to turn around when it collided with another bus and fell off a cliff, according to Samira Gozaine, director of Panama’s National Immigration Service.
The bus was carrying 66 passengers, and according to Panama’s health ministry, “more than five children” were among those hurt, according to AFP.
According to the authorities, several persons were sent by ambulance to a hospital in David, the provincial capital of Chiriqui, the AFP said.
It is the greatest migrant-related accident to occur in Panama in at least ten years.
The 96km (60 miles) long Darien Gap is a very dangerous section of jungle filled with treacherous rivers, wild animals, and criminal gangs. Located between Colombia and Panama, it has seen an increase in migration, with about 250,000 people making the journey there last year. That is a big rise from the amount of over 134,000 in 2021.
According to Jose Vicente Pachar, director general of the Panamanian Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, at least 60 migrants died trying to cross the Darien Gap in 2022, up from 50 in 2021, according to the AFP.
Almost seven million people have left Venezuela since 2014 due to the country’s challenging economic and security conditions, thus many of those who cross over are from there.
Prior to new visa rules in Mexico and other Central American nations, many Venezuelan refugees and migrants would have flown to Mexico before attempting to cross the border into the United States, but now many are being forced to use the Darien Gap.
Some people who make the crossing have used social media to discuss their experiences, adding to a growing and unofficial database of knowledge shared by those wishing to travel north.
