MEXICO CITY: At least 10 migrants were killed and 25 more were left injured after a cargo truck clandestinely carrying them overturned on a highway in southern Mexico, Al Jazeera reported.
The accident took place early on Sunday in the Mexican state of Chiapas near the border with Guatemala.
The truck was “irregularly” transporting 27 Cuban nationals on the Pijijiapan-Tonalá highway in the southern state of Chiapas when the accident occurred, CNN reported citing a statement from Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM).
The officials said initial reports suggested the driver had been speeding and lost control of the unit, fleeing the scene after it overturned.
The 10 victims were female and included a minor, and all the injured are being treated in hospital, as per the authorities.
“The INM will establish communication with the consular authorities to initiate the administrative process for the repatriation of the bodies to their country of origin and is aware of the evolution of the health status of those seriously injured,” CNN quoted the statement.
Meanwhile, it was the second fatal crash in less than a week involving migrants in Mexico. Earlier on Thursday, two migrants died when a truck overturned in the municipality of Mezcalapa, also in Chiapas state, Al Jazeera reported.
Notably, the migrants from Central America and the Caribbean sometimes travel through Mexico in trucks and trailers in the hope of reaching the United States.
In 2021, 55 people were killed and more than 100 were injured when a truck also believed to be carrying migrants overturned in Chiapas state, which borders Guatemala, CNN reported. (ANI)