Managua | 16 people believed to be migrants trying to reach the United States died in a traffic accident involving a bus in Nicaragua on Wednesday night and 47 others were injured, police said in a statement on Thursday.
“Sixteen people died, including five women and eleven men. Thirteen have Venezuelan nationality, one Nicaraguan and two are unidentified.
The accident happened at an intersection on the Panamericana in the department of Esteli, when a tourist bus collided with two cars.
“Due to the collision and excessive speed, the driver of the bus lost control and fell into a ravine,” the police said.
The driver, who survived the accident unharmed, was taken into custody.
The bus ran between Managua and Jalapa, a community near Nicaragua’s northern border with Honduras that was used by Latin American migrants hoping to get to the United States via Mexico.