Dozens of migrants killed in truck crash in Mexico

Published on : 12/10/2021 – 07:40

It’s a new linked drama illegal immigration in Mexico, a country more than ever caught between the migratory pressure of its poor neighbors to the south and the firmness of the United States. At least 53 illegal migrants died Thursday, December 9, in a truck crash in southern Mexico.

“So far 53 people have died and three others have been seriously injured,” said the General Prosecutor’s Office in a statement, also reporting 40 injured including three seriously, and 18 people more lightly affected.

The accident occurred near Tuxtla Gutierrez, capital of the state of Chiapas, in the southern border of Guatemala. The migrants were crammed into the trailer of a truck, according to initial explanations to the Civil Protection press. The speeding vehicle reportedly overturned after hitting a wall.

The truck was carrying “more than 100 people of various nationalities,” the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) in Mexico City said in a statement. “According to the testimonies of the survivors, most of them are from Guatemala,” said regional director of Civil Protection Luis Manuel Garcia.

Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei pledged “all necessary consular assistance, including repatriations” in a message of condolence and solidarity on Twitter. “I deeply regret the tragedy caused by the overturning of a truck in Chiapas carrying migrants from Central America. It is very painful,” tweeted his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The National Migration Institute (INM) said in a statement that “humanitarian visitor cards” would be offered to survivors, in addition to humanitarian aid (food, accommodation). The INM will coordinate with local and federal authorities efforts “to provide consular assistance, identify bodies, cover funeral costs.”

Immediately after the accident, helpers took the bodies out of the accident truck and covered them with a white sheet or a simple blanket on the ground, according to images obtained by AFPTV. The Red Cross, firefighters and ambulances were deployed on the spot. The injured were transported to private and public hospitals in the area.

The accident took place in the state of Chiapas, the gateway for migrants from Central America (mainly Honduras and El Salvador) in the hope of reaching the United States.

“Avoid tragedies”

Transporting them by truck is one of the common methods used by smugglers. Other migrants prefer to cross the country in a “caravan” on foot, and take the opportunity to claim their rights.

“We need migratory alternatives and legal channels to avoid tragedies like this one,” said the Mexican branch of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in its message of condolence. A traditional passageway, Mexico is faced this year with record arrivals of migrants coming not only from Honduras and El Salvador but also from Haiti.

From January to October, the country registered 108,195 asylum applications, a record, according to the latest official figures. For its part, the United States is showing firmness with regard to migrants. Their trip is “deeply dangerous and will have no success” warned Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a trip to Mexico in early October.

The accident took place the same day the first two migrants were returned from the United States to Mexico under a program put in place during the time of ex-President Donald Trump, suspended by Joe Biden, but reactivated by decision of the American Supreme Court.

Migrants must wait in Mexico for a response to their asylum request in the United States, according to this program called “Quedate en Mexico” (Rest in Mexico).

Another United Nations agency, the International Office for Migration (IOM), said it was urgent to put an end “as soon as possible and definitively” to this program “inhuman and contrary to international law”.

With AFP