Dozens killed, injured after truck carrying migrants crashed into Mexico bridge

A truck carrying up to 200 migrants in southern Mexico crashed into the base of a steel pedestrian bridge Thursday. The video above shows scenes from the crash. As of early Friday afternoon, 55 had died in the crash, and at least 52 more were injured. After hitting the bridge, the truck tipped over, tossing out and then crushing some of the migrants.

“It caught the curve, and because of the weight of the people inside we all fell into the curve,” said Celso Pacheco, who was in the truck when it crashed. “Clearly, the trailer could not contain the people because of the weight, and it toppled over.” Pacheco said the truck felt like it was speeding and then seemed out of control right before the crash.

Volunteer rescuers removed the dead from the pile, while the living scrambled to get out of the debris of the collapsed trailer. The rescuers said other migrants fled for fear of being detained by immigration agents. One paramedic said some of those who hurried into surrounding neighborhoods were bloodied or bruised, but still limped away anyways.

According to Pacheco, most of the migrants who were in the truck when it crashed were from Guatemala and Honduras. Authorities said migrants from Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Mexico were also aboard. Pacheco estimated about eight to 10 of the migrants were young children.

“I deeply regret the tragedy in Chiapas state, and I express my solidarity for the victims’ families, to whom we will offer all the necessary consular assistance, including repatriation,” Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei tweeted after the crash.

Large numbers of migrants on trucks are not unusual for migrant smuggling operations in Mexico. In recent months, Mexican authorities have tried to block migrants from walking in large groups toward the U.S. border. However, the country has been unable to slow down smugglers who charge thousands of dollars to take migrants to the border via truck or caravan. Those who spoke to survivors said they boarded the truck near the Mexico/Guatemala border and paid between $2,500 and $3,500 to be taken to Mexico’s central state of Puebla. Once there, the migrants would presumably have paid another set of smugglers to take them to the U.S. border.