(Panama) A boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Panama in the Caribbean Sea and an unknown number of its occupants died, Panamanian border police said Wednesday.
Rescue patrols were sent to the Darien Plug area, a hostile jungle region on the Panama-Colombia border, following “information received about the discovery of lifeless bodies of migrants,” a statement said. explained the border police.
“For the moment, we have no information on the survivors” or on the nationality of the victims, said a spokesperson for the National Border Service.
“We also don’t know how many people were on the boat,” she added.
The waters where the boat capsized were difficult to navigate due to waves, currents and winds, according to the same source.
The Panamanian channel TVN indicated on the social network has not been confirmed by the authorities.
Hundreds of thousands of South American migrants, mainly Venezuelans, pass through Panama on their dangerous journey north toward the U.S. border.
Most of them enter the country through the Darien jungle, on foot, from Colombia, then continue on to Central America and Mexico.
The year 2023 ended with more than 520,000 migrants arriving in Panama after crossing the Darien, according to data from the Panamanian Ministry of Security.
The same year, 40 migrants died in Panama and around 20 were injured after the bus carrying them from Darien to the Costa Rican border left the road. The Panamanian driver was also killed.