54 dead, 105 injured after tractor trailer stuffed with migrants crashes in southern Mexico
At least 54 people are dead and more than 100 are injured after a semi truck packed with migrants crashed in southern Mexico on Thursday.
The accident happened on December 9th in Chiapas, Mexico, which borders Guatemala.
According to The New York Times, the tractor trailer was traveling at a high rate of speed and overturned while rounding a curve. The truck then smashed into a concrete pedestrian bridge and a construction zone nearby.
ABC 7 reports that the trailer was packed with as many as 200 migrants at the time of the crash, and that 83 men and 22 women were injured in the wreck, including children. Three of the injured people are still in serious condition.
Officials say it is still not clear why so many people were crammed inside of the trailer, but some have pointed out that people migrating through Mexico from Central American countries like Honduras and Guatemala is very common.
“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,” tweeted Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.
“I deeply regret the tragedy caused by the overturning of a trailer in Chiapas carrying Central American migrants,” Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wrote in a post. “It’s very painful. I hug the families of the victims.”