Tragedy Strikes as Bus Crash Claims Lives of 18 Migrants in Southern Mexico
In a somber incident, 18 migrants, predominantly hailing from Venezuela and Haiti, lost their lives in a devastating bus crash early Friday in the southern region of Mexico, as confirmed by authorities.
The grim toll included two women and three children, with an additional 27 individuals sustaining injuries. Information on the condition of the injured passengers remains pending.
Photographs disseminated by Oaxaca state police unveiled the distressing aftermath of the accident: the bus lay overturned on its side along a winding stretch of the highway. An investigation is currently underway to discern the exact cause of the tragic crash. It was disclosed that a total of 55 migrants, primarily from Venezuela, were aboard the ill-fated vehicle.
This heartbreaking incident marks the latest in a series of migrant casualties in Mexico, coinciding with an upsurge in the number of migrants journeying toward the U.S. border. Owing to frequent apprehensions by migration authorities on conventional buses, migrants, and their smugglers often resort to perilous means of transportation, such as unregulated buses, trains, or freight trucks.
Just last week, 10 Cuban migrants met a tragic end, with 17 others suffering severe injuries, following a collision involving the freight truck they were traveling in on a highway in the neighboring state of Chiapas, situated near the Guatemalan border.
The National Immigration Institute disclosed that all of the deceased Cuban migrants were women, and one of them was a minor. The Institute’s report indicated that the driver of the vehicle had been evidently exceeding the speed limit, ultimately losing control of the truck, which was carrying 27 migrants at the time. Regrettably, the driver absconded from the scene.
It is pertinent to mention that Mexican authorities usually prohibit migrants lacking appropriate documentation from purchasing tickets for regular buses. Consequently, those who cannot afford smugglers often opt for the services of poorly-maintained buses driven recklessly to evade interception. Some migrants even resort to walking along the highways, hoping to hitch rides aboard passing trucks.
In yet another distressing incident last week, a truck overturned on a Chiapas highway, leading to the demise of two Central American migrants, while 27 others sustained injuries. Additionally, two Central American migrants lost their lives last week while attempting to board a moving train in the state of Coahuila, near the Texas border.