Two children dead six injured in night time boating collision

(newsroompanama.com) An after dark boating accident took the lives of two children and injured six others in the community of San Cristóbal in Bocas del Toro. Panama. The accident occurred at the entrance of San Cristóbal when a wooden boat carrying eight members of an Evangelical church was hit by a fiber glass vessel.

The names of the dead children were not released, but they were identified as females under the age of 18 They both died at Isla Colón Hospital in Bocas del Toro.

One hospitalized minor remains in critical condition.

The wooden boat was heading to San Cristóbal, while the fiberglass boat was headed toward Valle Escondido. The captain of the fiberglass boat, Willy Surgeon, has been detained.

Carlota Mattos, Legal Advisor to the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), said Monday (August 16 that those who breach the security measures on vessels should be punished to help prevent accidents that endanger people's lives.

One cause of the accident was the lack of lights, a requirement to travel at night, according to the National Civil Protection System.
Mattos said that boats that do not meet the necessary safety measures will be sanctioned could lose their operating permit.

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Original Source: http://www.newsroompanama.com/panama/1566-two-children-dead-six-injured-in-night-time-boating-collision.html
Date Retrieved: August 17, 2010