• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
Home World

At least 53 killed in Mexico migrant truck accident

10 December 2021, 8:00 AM  |
Reuters Reuters |  @SABCNews
A police officer raises his arm to block photographers to to avoid taking pictures at the site of a trailer accident that left at least 49 people dead, most of them migrants from Central America, in Tuxtla Gutierrez, in Chiapas state, Mexico December 9, 2021.

A police officer raises his arm to block photographers to to avoid taking pictures at the site of a trailer accident that left at least 49 people dead, most of them migrants from Central America, in Tuxtla Gutierrez, in Chiapas state, Mexico December 9, 2021.

Image: Reuters

A police officer raises his arm to block photographers to to avoid taking pictures at the site of a trailer accident that left at least 49 people dead, most of them migrants from Central America, in Tuxtla Gutierrez, in Chiapas state, Mexico December 9, 2021.

At least 53 mostly Central Americans were killed on Thursday when the truck they were in flipped over in southern Mexico, in one of the worst accidents to befall migrants risking their lives to reach the United States.

The trailer broke open and spilled out migrants when the truck crashed on a sharp curve outside the city of  Tuxtla Gutierrez in the state of Chiapas, according to video footage of the aftermath and civil protection authorities.

The Attorney General’s office put the death toll at 53.

“It took a bend, and because of the weight of us people inside, we all went with it,” said a shocked-looking Guatemalan man sitting at the scene in footage broadcast on social media.

“The trailer couldn’t handle the weight of people.”

Several dozen people were injured and taken to hospitals in Chiapas, which borders Guatemala. More than 100 people were travelling inside the trailer, authorities said.

A Reuters witness heard cries and sobs among survivors as emergency personnel rushed to their aid.

Reuters images showed a white trailer on its side on a highway, with injured people splayed out on tarps on the ground. Images also showed rows of what appeared to be bodies of victims wrapped in white cloth.

A video of the scene streamed on social media showed a woman holding a child wailing in her lap, both covered in blood. Another video showed a man curled up in pain inside the destroyed trailer, hardly moving as helpers pulled out bodies.

Men, women and children were among the dead, the Chiapas state government said, and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Twitter expressed his sorrow at the “very painful” incident.

‘Not the best way’

Migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Central America typically trek through Mexico to reach the U.S. border, and sometimes cram into large trucks organized by smugglers in extremely dangerous conditions.

“This shows us that irregular migration is not the best way,” Kevin Lopez, a spokesman for Guatemala’s presidency, told Milenio television after the accident.

He did not know how many Guatemalan victims there were.

El Salvador’s foreign minister, Alexandra Hill, said her government was working to see if Salvadorans had died.

Mexico offered lodging and humanitarian visas to the survivors, and Chiapas Governor Rutilio Escandon said those responsible for the accident would be held to account.

Officials in Mexico routinely come across migrants packed into trailers, including 600 people found hidden in the back of two trucks in eastern Mexico last month.

The journey north from Mexico’s border with Guatemala is perilous and expensive, and many migrants fall prey to criminal gangs en route. In January, 19 people, mostly migrants, were massacred with suspected police involvement in northern Mexico.

Record numbers of people have been arrested on the US-Mexico border this year as migrants seek to capitalize on President Joe Biden’s pledge to pursue more humane immigration policies than his hardline predecessor, Donald Trump.

Mexican authorities in Chiapas have attempted to persuade migrants to not form caravans to walk thousands of miles to the U.S. border, and have begun transporting people from the southern city of Tapachula to other regions of the country.

The Biden administration has also urged migrants not to leave their homelands for the United States, and this week saw the restart of a policy initiated under Trump to send asylum seekers back to Mexico to await their court hearings.

Some critics argue that tougher policies push migrants into the hands of the human smugglers, putting their lives at risk.

“(Authorities) generate smuggled migration that generates billions of dollars in profits,” said migrant activist Ruben Figueroa.

Share article
Tags: MexicoTruck Accident
Previous Post

North Cameroon violence between farmers, herders kills 22; residents flee

Next Post

Video | Health Ministry media briefing on COVID-19 in SA

Related Posts

Crew members signal to a F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet preparing to take off for a routine flight on board the U.S. USS Nimitz aircraft carrier during a routine deployment to the South China Sea, Mid-Sea, January 27, 2023.

US four-star general warns of war with China in 2025

28 January 2023, 9:04 PM
Turkish riot police patrol outside the Swedish consulate In Istanbul, Turkey January 24, 2023.

Sweden tells citizens to avoid crowds in Turkey after Koran burning

28 January 2023, 8:03 PM
Czech presidential candidate Petr Pavel and his wife Eva Pavlova arrive at his headquarters, during the country's presidential election, in Prague, Czech Republic January 28, 2023.

Czech prime minister congratulates Pavel on election as president

28 January 2023, 7:32 PM
Afghan female students walk near Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 21, 2022.

Afghan female students not allowed to sit university entrance exam: Taliban ministry

28 January 2023, 7:03 PM
A woman and a child walk past workers sorting toys at a shopping mall in Beijing, China January 11, 2023.

China aims to boost consumption and imports as global demand cools

28 January 2023, 6:01 PM
Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli army reinforced in West Bank after synagogue shooting

28 January 2023, 2:23 PM
Next Post

Video | Health Ministry media briefing on COVID-19 in SA

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Scorcher predicted in Northern Cape for two weeks
  • Residents shut down Komani over power woes
  • ANC slams DA’s march to Luthuli House
  • No registration fee will be charged to NSFAS-funded students: Nzimande
  • ANC MP’s wife shot, suspects still at large
  • Parts of the Northern Cape to be exempted from rolling blackouts
  • VIDEO | St Benedict College’s Matric learner gets 11 distinctions
  • Limpopo matriculant from child-headed household attains diploma pass
  • Female circumcision practice thriving in Eastern Cape
  • Premier denies claims that KZN government spent millions on Mampintsha’s funeral
  • Limpopo man arrested after discovery of his wife’s body in water-filled pit toilet
  • Gas leak shut, isolated in Pretoria North
  • Mahlengi Bhengu replaces Pule Mabe as ANC chief spokesperson
  • EFF cuts ties with IFP in KwaZulu-Natal
  • Malema calls on South Africans to reject Just Energy Transition

LATEST

Jacob Zuma
  • South Africa

Decision on Judge Koen on recusal matter in case involving Zuma to be heard on Monday


Models present creations at the Gucci Fall/Winter 2023/2024 menswear show in Milan, Italy January 13, 2023.
  • Lifestyle

Gucci names De Sarno as creative director with the task of reviving the brand


People carry a banner reading " We are also teaching fighting" as school workers demonstrate for better salaries and working conditions, in Lisbon, Portugal January 28, 2023.
  • South Africa

Tens of thousands of teachers march in Lisbon to demand better pay and conditions


The Lebombo Border Post between South Africa and Mozambique.
  • South Africa

Stolen cars recovered near Mozambican border


South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, ahead of their bilateral meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, January 23, 2023.
  • Politics

DA slams SA government for defending the military exercise with Russia


Crew members signal to a F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet preparing to take off for a routine flight on board the U.S. USS Nimitz aircraft carrier during a routine deployment to the South China Sea, Mid-Sea, January 27, 2023.
  • World

US four-star general warns of war with China in 2025


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2022

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2022

Previous North Cameroon violence between farmers, herders kills 22; residents flee
Next Video | Health Ministry media briefing on COVID-19 in SA