TUXTLA GUTIERREZ (Mexico), March 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A truck packed with Central American migrants swerved off a highway in southern Mexico late Thursday, leaving at least 25 dead and 29 injured, officials said.
The accident happened in Chiapas state which borders Guatemala, the state
attorney general’s office said in a statement.
The Chiapas state prosecutor’s office said in a statement it appears the driver lost control of the truck around 6 p.m. near the town of Francisco Sarabia in the municipality of Soyalo.
The injured were transported to hospitals. Authorities did not provide the nationalities of the victims, and say the investigation continues.
Chiapas is the historic entry point for Central American migrants arriving in Mexico from Guatemala. The normal migratory flow has attracted additional attention will the arrival of several large migrant caravans from Central America during the past year.
The truck involved in this accident was carrying an estimated 80 people, said Isidro Hernandez of the local Red Cross. Some who were not injured may have fled.
The fatalities include at least one minor, Hernandez added.
Every year, thousands of Central Americans, mainly from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, attempt dangerous trips through Mexico trying to reach the United States or attempting to find opportunities for work in Mexico.
Many travel in group caravans for safety, while others hire human traffickers who put them in overcrowded trucks with often unsanitary conditions.
Central Americans were fleeing poverty, violence and political persecution. — NNN-AGENCIES