AT LEAST 33 have died and 23 are wounded following a horror crash after a bus fell off a cliff and into a ravine.
The terrible accident happened when the bus carrying migrants fell off a cliff in Gualaca, Chiriquí province in Panama at 4.30am this morning.
2The wreckage of the bus following the deadly crash
2Police and ambulances arrive on the scene to help the survivorsCredit: TwitterThe bus, carrying 69 migrants, left Darién on its way to Los Planes de Gualaca shelter, near the Costa Rican border, when it overturned.
The minibus was reportedly travelling to the United States.
The death toll is already at 33, while 23 are injured and receiving medical attention, confirmed Panama’s national director of migration, Samira Gozaine.
According to initial reports, the bus tried to make a turn on the Chiriquí-Bocas Del Toro highway near to the shelter but during the manoeuvre it fell from the cliff into a ravine.
“The bus driver missed the entrance and turned around to go back to the shelter, at which point he fell onto a slope,” said Samira Gozaine, director of the Migration Service.
The nationalities of the victims have not been released.
“The Government of Panama is providing medical attention to the injured,” President Laurentino Cortizo said on Twitter.
“This news is unfortunate for Panama and for the region,” the president added.
“The National Government extends its condolences to the families of those killed in this accident, and reiterates its commitment to continue providing humanitarian aid and decent conditions to deal with irregular migration.”
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Story Credit: thesun.co.uk