Accident in Mexico leaves more than 50 dead and hundreds injured

The victims were migrants who had embarked on a trip to search of better life opportunities

A total of 160 migrants, mostly from Central America, who had left their respective countries in search of better opportunities, suffered a fatal accident in the state of Chiapas, in southeastern Mexico this Thursday afternoon.

The event, which left 55 dead and 105 injured, occurred between the cities of Chiapas de Corzo and Tuxtla Gutiérrez, and according to the authorities' report, the rollover was due to speeding and brake failures.

In addition to this, the migrants who were traveling overcrowded, entered the Aztec country a few days ago, were gathered by groups that are dedicated to human trafficking in San Cristóbal de las Casas, and later they were uploaded to the tractor trailer, which would take them to Puebla to continue your journey.

Ricardo Mejía Berdeja, undersecretary of Public Security of the Mexican government, pointed out that the crowding of people in the truck and the terrible conditions the migrants were traveling "were key to the unfortunate accident".

The official, during a press conference held this Friday, showed photographs in which it was evident that the truck had openings in the roof, which were made by the migrants to breathe. He asserted that it is likely that people could have been thrown off the deck during the event.

He also revealed that the driver of the tractor, which belongs to the Zeta Transportes organization, fled the scene after the overturning that occurred when colliding with a pedestrian bridge.

Likewise, eyewitnesses to the accident pointed out that the boxes of the trailer were detached, and in this way the people were scattered around the place.

Nationalities of migrants

The Mexican authorities indicated that 95 injured people were from Guatemala, three from the Dominican Republic, one from Ecuador, one from Mexico and four others that have not yet identified their country of origin. While the deceased apparently all were from Central America.

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador lamented this event, which according to the security forces, has been one of the most fatal accidents of this type that has been registered in the country.

The Mexican president expressed that he was sorry for the tragedy, and sent a hug to the families of the victims, while the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, through his Twitter account also expressed solidarity with the families of those affected, and offered consular assistance, including repatriation.

Migratory crisis

The current economic crisis in the vast majority of Latin American countries has led to an increase in the number of migrants who is a year after year decide to undertake long walks to reach the United States in search of better opportunities.

People pay a large amount of money to be able to achieve their objective illegally, in addition to this they face high temperatures, especially in southern Mexico, and risk traveling crowded with groups that traffic people to achieve the desired dream American.

According to the National Migration Institute of Mexico, between January and October 2021 a total of 228 thousand migrants have been detained by the security forces, which represents 64% more than those arrested last year. Likewise, more than 82,000 have been deported from January to October.

On the other hand, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid reported that from January to November more than 123,000 people have made asylum requests, especially citizens of countries such as Haiti, Cuba and Honduras.