After making it across one of the most dangerous migrant crossings in the world, at least 33 migrants died in Panama when a bus taking them to a government-run migrant camp fell into a precipice, the country’s authorities said on Wednesday.
The bus was headed from Darién province, in the far southeast of the country, to a shelter in Chiriquí province, about 12 hours away along the border with Costa Rica. It had reached the shelter and was making a turn when the driver lost control, Emiliano Ortero, director of traffic operations of the National Police, told TVN news.
Twenty-three passengers were transported to hospitals, and around a dozen were attended to at the scene. But 33 of the migrants onboard died, said Ediberto Armuelles, major of the Chiriquí fire brigade, in an interview with TVN news. He said the accident happened at around 4:30 in the morning on Feb.15.
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The timing of the accident added to the sense of grief. The bus was transporting migrants who had just traversed the Darién Gap, the mountainous, swamp-filled jungle that separates Colombia and Panama and is one of the most dangerous regions in the world. There are no roads, cars, or cell-service, and migrants are targets for robbery and rape. An unknown number of people have died attempting to cross it, most of them on their way to the United States border with Mexico.
The amount of migrants using the 66-mile route has exploded in recent years, despite the enormous dangers, because it is one of the only available pathways for migrants and asylum seekers seeking to reach the U.S. Nearly 250,000 migrants crossed the Darién Gap in 2022 compared to 133,000 in 2021, according to figures from the Panamanian government. With Mexico and Central American countries increasingly limiting visas for those flying in, many migrants now fly to South American nations such as Ecuador and Brazil and start their journeys north from there.
Migrants who cross the Darién are attended to by Panamanian authorities and then funneled onto buses that take them to Chiriquí, where they continue their journey north. Migrants are charged $40 per person for the trip. Those that can’t pay are allowed to sit on the floor of the buses.
