At least 53 Central American migrants died when the truck carrying them overturned in southern Mexico this Thursday (9), in one of the worst accidents that hit people risking their lives to reach the border with the United States.
The accident occurred when the vehicle hit a sharp curve outside the town of Tuxtla Gutierrez in the state of Chiapas, said Luis Manuel Garcia, head of the region’s Civil Protection Agency.
The Mexican attorney general’s office reported that. to date, 53 people have died, including men, women and children.
Reuters footage shows a white truck overturned on a highway, with people sprawled on tarpaulins on the ground for medical care. Some bodies of the victims of the accident were already wrapped in white cloths.
A video streamed on social media showed a woman holding a crying child in her lap, both bathed in blood.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Twitter expressed his sadness at the “very painful” incident.
The accident also injured several dozen people, who were taken to hospitals in the area, authorities said.
Migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Central America typically travel through Mexico to reach the US border and sometimes huddle up in large trucks organized by smugglers in extremely dangerous conditions.
El Salvador’s Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill said her government is working to see if there are Salvadorans among the victims.
Mexico’s National Immigration Institute has said it will offer accommodation and humanitarian visas to survivors, and Chiapas Governor Rutilio Escandon said those responsible for the accident will be held responsible.
Officials in Mexico routinely find migrants huddled in trailers, including 600 people found hiding in the back of two trucks in the east of the country last month.
The government of US President Joe Biden has also urged migrants not to leave their homeland to go to the United States.
Critics say tougher policies drive migrants to seek out smugglers, putting their lives at risk.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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