Fire Consumes Panachif Bus on the Panama-Chiriqui Route on Friday

A passenger bus on the Panama-David-Fronteras route was engulfed in flames around 2:45 a.m. Friday.  The incident occurred on the Inter-American route, at the height of San Juan, in the East of Chiriquí Province.  The driver urgently ordered the passengers to quickly leave the bus belonging to the Panachif fleet.  According to unofficial reports, a mechanical defect sparked the fire, which quickly spread throughout the vehicle, resulting in a total loss.  The timely notice allowed the evacuation of the driver, the assistant and passengers that were heading towards Chiriqui, allowing all the occupants to get out to safety.  David’s fire units arrived to take care of the emergency, but the flames had already completely destroyed the bus.  The bureau of fire safety is investigating the cause of the disaster.