The accident happened around dawn on a highway. (Representative)
Mexico City, Mexico:
A bus carrying migrants overturned in southern Mexico on Friday, killing at least 18 passengers and injuring 27, authorities said – the latest fatal traffic accident involving migrants heading to the US.
The dead, including three minors, came from Venezuela and Haiti, according to a statement from the Oaxaca state prosecutor’s office.
The accident happened around dawn on a highway connecting Oaxaca with the neighboring state of Puebla, the report said.
The injured were taken to hospital for treatment, the report said.
Images released by state authorities showed the wreckage of the bus lying on its side on a highway winding through hills.
Thousands of migrants from several countries have traveled through Mexico in buses, crowded caravans and atop freight trains in an attempt to reach the U.S.-Mexico border.
More than 8,200 migrants have died or disappeared in America since 2014, most of whom tried to reach the United States through Mexico, according to the International Organization for Migration.
At least 10 Cuban migrants were killed and 25 injured on Sunday when a truck they were traveling in overturned in the southern state of Chiapas.
In early August, at least 18 people died and 23 were injured after a bus carrying local passengers and migrants from countries including India, the Dominican Republic and some African countries plunged into a ravine in Nayarit state.
On Thursday, senior U.S. and Mexican officials pledged to redouble their efforts to tackle irregular migration through measures such as modernizing border security, expanding legal options and addressing root causes.
The two countries were committed to expanding “safe, orderly and legal pathways for migrants” but with “strict consequences” for those who enter the United States illegally, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said after the talks. Mexico City.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
