PANAMA CITY: At least 33 people died on Wednesday when a bus transporting migrants to the United States crashed with a minibus in the Gualaca area of Panama, an official in the Central American country said.
While sharing updates about the death toll, the national director of migration of Panama, Samira Gozaine, told the Telemetro broadcaster that so far, 33 people have been killed in the crash incident.
Earlier, President Laurentino Cortizo announced that 15 people have died in the early-morning crash in Gualaca, Chiriqui.
The ill-fated bus had 66 occupants, including the driver and an assistant, when it crashed nearly 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of the capital Panama City, police transit operations commissioner Emiliano Otero told reporters.
Nationalities of Panama crash victims
Authorities have yet to report the victims’ nationalities or the number of injured people. Cortizo said the government was providing medical care for survivors.
Gozaine told AFP by phone there were three critically injured people at the crash site.
According to local media, several of the injured were taken by ambulance to a hospital in the Chiriqui provincial capital city David. – AFP
