Dozens Killed In Mexico After Tractor-Trailer Carrying Migrants Crashes, Overturns
TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico (CBSDFW.COM/CNN) - At least 54 people were killed and more than 100 injured after a tractor-trailer overturned in southern Mexico on Thursday.
Authorities believe most of the victims were migrants from Central America.
The incident happened in Mexico's Chiapas state, which borders Guatemala, when the truck carrying dozens of migrants crashed. Photos from the scene show the truck on its side next to a footbridge and bodies on the road wrapped in bags.
In video footage taken shortly after the accident, people could be seen spilled out on to the road, next to a white trailer that had split open. The vehicle crashed on a tight bend outside the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, the Chiapas state capital.
Children, women and men were reportedly among the dead.
State Governor Rutilio Escandón tweeted that in addition to the deaths, 105 people were injured in the crash -- among them 83 men and 22 women.
Three people are still in a serious condition, according to the Attorney General's office.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said some of the people who died included foreign nationals.
"My condolences to the victims and affected families. In communication with the State Government and Civil Protection. We make contact with the foreign ministries of the affected countries," Ebrard wrote on Twitter.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador shared his condolences on Twitter.
"I deeply regret the tragedy caused by the overturning of a trailer in Chiapas carrying Central American migrants," the President said. "It's very painful. I hug the families of the victims."
It is not immediately clear what caused the crash or why the victims were crammed into the truck. However, migration is very common from Central American countries like Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, where violence, corruption, food insecurity, and a lack of economic opportunity have left many with no other choice.
The dangerous journey, often organized by people smugglers, travels north through Mexico to reach the US border.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The CNN Wire™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company contributed to this report.)
