Dozens of dead in traffic accident in Mexico after the overturning of a truck carrying more than 100 migrants

Mexico City (CNN) – At least 54 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a truck overturned in Chiapas, southern Mexico, on Thursday. Most of the victims are believed to be migrants from Central America, according to local authorities.

The incident occurred in the Mexican state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, when a truck carrying dozens of migrants overturned. Photos from the scene show the truck on its side and bodies lying on the road wrapped in body bags.

The governor of Chiapas, Rutilio Escandón, tweeted that in addition to the deceased, 105 people were injured in the accident, including 83 men and 22 women.

Three people are still in serious condition, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

There were foreign citizens in an accident in Chiapas, according to authorities

The Mexican Chancellor, Marcelo Ebrard, said that among the people who died were foreign nationals.

“Serious accident in Chiapas with victims of nationals of other countries. My condolences to the victims and affected relatives. In communication with the State Government and Civil Protection. We make contact with the foreign ministries of the affected countries,” said Ebrard through his official Twitter account.

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, shared his condolences in Twitter.

“I deeply regret the tragedy caused by the overturning of a trailer in Chiapas that was transporting Central American migrants,” said the president. “It is very painful. I hug the families of the victims.”

It is unclear what caused the accident or why the victims were crammed into the truck. However, migration is very common from Central American countries such as Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, where violence, corruption, food insecurity and lack of economic opportunities have left many with no other option.

The dangerous journey, often organized by human smugglers, heads north through Mexico to reach the US border.

The dangers of migration

In November, Mexican authorities reported finding some 600 migrants hiding in two trailers that were traveling through the state of Veracruz. The country’s National Migration Institute said they discovered 145 women and 455 men in closed containers heading north toward the US border.

The US Border Patrol arrested a record number of people for illegal crossings on the US-Mexico border in the past year. There have also been a record number of people who died trying to cross the border this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

On Monday, the Biden administration relaunched the controversial Trump-era border policy known as “Remain in Mexico,” re-launching the program that allows officials to send non-Mexican immigrants to Mexico to await their immigration court hearings. from the United States.

Under the Trump administration, thousands of migrants were subject to the program, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, and resided in makeshift camps along Mexico’s northern border, often in dangerous and squalid conditions.

President Joe Biden pledged to end the program and began the intake process for migrants who had previously been subject to it. But a federal judge in Texas interrupted those plans when he ordered the administration to revive the policy.

Attentive countries in the region

The Minister of Foreign Relations of El Salvador reported that his consuls were moving to the scene of the accident, although as of Thursday night they had no confirmation that there were citizens of that nationality.

His Guatemalan counterpart, meanwhile, said he deeply regretted “the accident that occurred in the state of Chiapas, resulting in the number of victims, including the fatalities, of migrants.”

He stated that the consulate was following up

The Foreign Ministry of Ecuador is also in contact with the Mexican authorities. “At the moment, and according to preliminary information, it has not been confirmed that there are Ecuadorians among the victims, since it is presumed that the people who died would be from Central American countries,” they said in a release.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.