PANAMA CITY, Panama: A boat carrying migrants capsized off Panama’s Caribbean coast on Wednesday, authorities said, leaving an unknown number of dead and re-emphasizing the dangers of traveling north to the United States.
The shipwreck occurred at dawn near the notorious Darien Gap jungle, which was crossed by a record number of migrants from South America last year.
Patrols were dispatched to search for victims, possible survivors and human traffickers after “information was received about the discovery of the bodies of lifeless migrants,” the border police said.
Television network TVN reported that at least four people died out of about 25 passengers, but no toll has yet been officially confirmed.
“For now, we don’t have any information about survivors” or the victims’ nationalities, a National Border Service spokeswoman told media.
“We’re also not sure how many people were on the boat because it’s an illegal activity, human trafficking,” she said further.
The waters where the boat overturned were particularly difficult to navigate due to waves, currents and wind, according to the National Border Patrol.
Thousands of South American migrants, mainly Venezuelans, are passing through Panama on the perilous journey north to the US border.
Most enter the country through the Darien jungle on foot from Colombia and then continue through the rest of Central America and Mexico.
Around 520,000 migrants entered Panama through the Darien Gap in 2023 – a new record – including roughly 120,000 minors, according to the Panamanian government.
Most of those resisting the transition, which could take up to six days, were fleeing economic misery in Venezuela.
Panamanian authorities announced a series of measures in September to try to curb the rise in migration, including increasing deportations of people who enter the country illegally.
Migrants face violent criminal gangs, rivers and wild animals in the jungle.