At least one person died and four were injured during a massive explosion at the Panama Canal on Monday. It happened beneath the Bridge of the Americas, and shocking images and video have gone viral on social media, including one of a bus full of passengers on the bridge with smoke and flames erupting just outside their windows.
A bus passenger captured the moment fuel tanks exploded while crossing the Bridge of the Americas over the Panama Canal
The footage shows the blast unfolding in real time from inside the moving bus, with flames and thick smoke rising near the canal
The explosion is linked to… pic.twitter.com/AZQty7HdlJ
— Diamond Feed (@DiamondFeedX) April 7, 2026
🚨Une explosion survenue à proximité du pont des Amériques, principal accès au canal de Panama côté Pacifique, a provoqué l’incendie de plusieurs camions-citernes. Quatre personnes ont été blessées, dont deux souffrent de brûlures au deuxième degré, tandis qu’une autre est portée… pic.twitter.com/2ACFXvSbas
— LSI AFRICA (@lsiafrica) April 7, 2026
While the cause is still under investigation, authorities said that a fuel tanker truck exploded while refueling at a storage/loading facility, and the fire spread quickly to other trucks nearby. The incident occurred near the Panama Oil Terminals S.A in the La Boca/Balboa area of Panama City. I’m seeing reports that people who lived nearby were evacuated from their homes until firefighters could get the situation under control.
Around 70 firefighters were at the scene, and it took over 30 hours to put out the fire. The person who died was an employee at the company. Those injured were a mix of firefighters and civilians who suffered from first and second-degree burns and smoke inhalation. They were all taken to a hospital for treatment.
The Ministry of Public Works said that the Bridge of the Americas would be closed temporarily so they could inspect it for structural damage that could put drivers at risk. For those who are unfamiliar, the bridge spans the canal’s Pacific entrance. Between 1962 and 2040, it was part of the Pan-American Highway.
Shipping traffic in the canal itself was not affected.
Again, the explosion is under investigation — Panamanian authorities are calling it an industrial accident with no mention of sabotage or terrorism, but a lot of internet sleuths are suspicious of the timing.
As I’ve been reporting, Panama’s Supreme Court basically told China to get lost earlier this year, declaring concessions held by the Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison unconstitutional. China was essentially controlling ports at either end of the canal — Port of Balboa and Port of Cristóbal. The explosion happened near Balboa.
Related: China Throws a Petty Tantrum Over the Panama Canal — and Rubio Isn’t Having It
China has been throwing a fit ever since, and more recently, it’s retaliating by inspecting and detaining Panamanian ships at its own ports at a rate much higher than those from other countries, which is having an impact on global trade. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called this “bullying” and has promised that the United States stands with Panama against it.
Just to be clear, there’s no evidence that this explosion has anything to do with China, but the timing is a little suspect, which is leading to numerous conspiracy theories. We’ll see how this plays out.
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