The director of the National Migration Service of Panama, Sabina Gozaine, explained that the bus driver was trying to get to a migrant shelter when the accident occurred. It is estimated that there are more than 20 injured in the event
At least 33 migrants of different nationalities died this Wednesday, February 15, after the bus where they were traveling, which was destined for a shelter in the province of Chiriquí – near the border with Costa Rica – collided with another vehicle.
Edilberto Armuelles, the chief of firefighters of the aforementioned province, explained that 66 people were traveling in the unit, of which 23 were injured: of that number, there are at least five minors, two of whom are seriously injured.
For her part, the director of the National Migration Service of Panama, Sabina Gozaine, pointed out that there are several people who were taken to the health centers to be treated and pointed out that it was a private transport, with the driver and a crew member, with the that these people were traveling from Darién to reach that shelter near the border.
*Read also: Number of Venezuelans who crossed the Darién last year increased 50 times compared to 2021
Gozaine indicated that, apparently, the man who was driving passed the entrance to the shelter and when he was about to turn around to get back on the road, the crash occurred.
He said that Panama Migration tries to accompany the units that go out with migrants to prevent human trafficking.
The Minister of Public Security, Juan Pino, confirmed that Panamanian nationals were also traveling in the unit and regretted the incident. In addition, he highlighted that so far in 2023 some 37,000 people have already entered the Darién in a flow that does not stop, of which 5,014 are Venezuelans.
the director of @migrationpanama, @gozainesamirareferred to the traffic accident registered in Gualaca, Chiriquí province, where more than 30 people died. pic.twitter.com/eJhapPYB2g
— Ministry of Public Security of Panama (@MinSegPma) February 15, 2023
Meanwhile, the president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, published in his social networks that “it is with great sadness that I receive the news of the traffic accident in Gualaca, Chiriquí, in which migrants lost their lives while being transported from Darién to the shelter located in this place.”
It is with deep regret that I inform the country that fatalities have increased as a result of the unfortunate traffic accident in Gualaca, Chiriquí. Government teams are working hard at the scene, providing medical assistance to the survivors of this tragedy.
— Nito Cortizo (@NitoCortizo) February 15, 2023
From November 2022the Government of Panama transfers Venezuelan migrants and other nationalities to an immigration station located near the border with Costa Rica.
More than 220,000 people have transited through Panama, one of the countries that this migratory flow travels to reach the United States. Most have been Venezuelans.
With additional information from D.W. / Telemundo /
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