Truck packed with migrants was speeding before crash that killed dozens in Mexico, survivor told rescue worker

Cargo truck said to be carrying migrants crashes in southern Mexico, killing more than 50

Authorities are looking into whether speed was a factor into a deadly truck crash in southern Mexico.

A migrant from Guatemala said he was among 200 people aboard a cargo truck when the truck tried to make a sharp turn. The sheer weight of everyone inside caused the truck to tip over and roll—crashing into a pedestrian bridge, according to the migrant.

"The truck was speeding," a rescue worker said a survivor told him.

The death toll stood at 53 by late Thursday, and authorities said at least 54 people had been injured.

Many on board were migrants from Guatemala and Honduras. According to first responders, there were many more aboard the vehicle who fled the scene for fear of being detained by immigration agents.

Survivors say migrants boarded the truck near the Guatemalan border and paid as much as $3,500 to be taken to central Mexico with the hopes of then heading to the U.S. border.

Many are fleeing poverty in Central America—worsened by back-to-back hurricanes as CBS News reported from Guatemala earlier this year.

In April, CBS News spoke to a 19-year-old migrant who said he made it all the way to Mexico City before he ran out of money to pay smugglers.

The White House is urging migrants to stay in their homelands and just reinstated the "Remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers.

But critics say tougher immigration policies are what force migrants to rely on smugglers to make the journey to the U.S, putting their lives at risk.