A view shows clothing and items scattered on the site where a cargo truck careened off a road and turned over, killing at least 25 migrants from Central America, in Francisco Sarabia, Chiapas state, Mexico March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Jacob Garcia

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A cargo truck without license plates careened off a road in southern Mexico and turned over, killing at least 25 people inside, state officials said Thursday night.

Nearly 30 people were reported injured in the accident involving an approximately three-ton Ford Super Duty pick-up truck attached to a cargo container, according to a statement from the Chiapas attorney general’s office.

The crash happened around dusk on a highway about 25 miles (41 km) northeast of Tuxtla-Gutierrez, the capital of southern Chiapas state which borders Guatemala.

Officials did not give a breakdown of the victims’ nationalities but said they were Central Americans. Chiapas is a major transit point for migrants, especially from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, as many trek through Mexico on their way to the U.S. border.

Media reported that investigators are considering the possibility that the driver of the truck lost control due to a mechanical failure, citing other state authorities.</s>Authorities in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas say at least 25 Central American migrants have died when the truck they were traveling in overturned.

The Chiapas state prosecutor’s office said in a statement late Thursday that 29 others were injured in the accident. It appears the driver lost control of the truck around 6 p.m. near the town of Francisco Sarabia in the municipality of Soyalo.

The injured were transported to hospitals. Authorities did not provide the nationalities of the victims, and say the investigation continues.

Chiapas is the historic entry point for Central American migrants arriving in Mexico from Guatemala. The normal migratory flow has attracted additional attention will the arrival of several large migrant caravans from Central America during the past year.</s>MEXICO CITY, March 8 (UPI) -- A truck carrying about 50 Central American migrants careened off a highway in southern Mexico Chiapas killing 25 and sending 29 people to hospital.

The accident occurred about 6 p.m. Thursday some 150 miles from Mexico's border with Guatemala. The 3-ton Ford truck did not have license plates, according to a preliminary investigation opened by the Chiapas state prosecutor.

"We lament profoundly the deaths of Central American migrants in this accident," said Maximiliano Reyes Zuniga, a spokesman for Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Relations.

Mexico's Chiapas state shares a border with Guatemala and is a primary route for Central American and migrants from other countries traveling north to reach the United States.

The precise nationalities of the dead and wounded migrants is not yet known.

Dozens of people were strewn around the overturned truck next to the highway, according to local press reports and tweets of photos from the scene.

First responders included Red Cross, civil protection officers and municipal and state police officers.

Migrants in Mexico often face dangerous traveling conditions as they head north. A month ago, Mexican authorities in Chiapas found 234 migrants traveling in what they called "inhuman conditions" in trailers. At the end of last year in the neighboring states of Tabasco and Oaxaca, authorities found more than 200 migrants also traveling in trailers.

Following this latest accident, the government of Chiapas issued a civil protection alert for Central American migrants traveling through the state.</s>At least 25 Central American migrants and refugees died and dozens more were injured on Thursday after the truck they were travelling in overturned in southern Mexico, according to authorities.

The Chiapas state prosecutor's office said in a statement late on Thursday that 29 others were injured in the accident. It appears the driver lost control of the truck near the town of Francisco Sarabia in the municipality of Soyalo.

The injured were transported to hospitals. Authorities did not provide the nationalities of the victims, and say the investigation continues.

The truck involved in this accident was carrying an estimated 80 people, said Isidro Hernandez of the local Red Cross. Some who were not injured may have fled.

The fatalities include at least one minor, Hernandez added.

Chiapas is the main entry point for Central American migrants arriving in Mexico from Guatemala.

Every year, thousands of Central Americans, mainly from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, attempt dangerous trips through Mexico trying to reach the United States or attempting to find opportunities for work in Mexico.

Many travel in group caravans for safety, while others hire human traffickers who put them in overcrowded trucks with often unsanitary conditions.

Central Americans have told Al Jazeera they are fleeing poverty, violence and political persecution.</s>At least 25 Central American migrants were killed and 30 were seriously injured when the truck in which they were riding went off the road yesterday in central Chiapas.

About 80 people were traveling in the three-tonne cargo truck on a highway near the town of Francisco Sarabia when the vehicle left the road and rolled over, according to local Red Cross director Isidro Hernández.

State police and the military secured the scene of the accident to look for injured migrants who might have fled the area to avoid being caught by authorities. Hernández said it was very likely that many others who had not been hurt in the crash had also escaped.

The attorney general’s office said the migrants, mostly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, crossed into Mexico from Guatemala near La Mesilla, Chiapas.

From there, they traveled via truck on a route seldom used by migrants to central Chiapas.

 Officials said that they had gathered information about the victims in order to contact their families and begin the process of returning their remains to their loved ones.

Though many Central American migrants have been traveling across Mexico in large caravans for safety, many others hire traffickers and are transported in crowded and unsanitary conditions in cargo trucks on their journey north.</s>TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico -- Authorities in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas say at least 25 Central American migrants died when the truck they were travelling in overturned.

The Chiapas state prosecutor's office said in a statement late Thursday that 29 others were injured in the accident. It appears the driver lost control of the truck around 6 p.m. near the town of Francisco Sarabia in the municipality of Soyalo.

The injured were transported to hospitals as authorities investigated the cause of the crash.

In a statement, Guatemala's foreign ministry said 23 of those killed were Guatemalan migrants.

Photographs on social media show an overturned truck in an unpopulated area, with dozens of people lying on the ground nearby. Some of the wounded appeared to be waiting for help from paramedics.

The Guatemala foreign ministry said its consulates in the area were assisting those affected.

Chiapas is the historic entry point for Central Americans arriving in Mexico from the neighbouring country.

The normal migratory flow has attracted additional attention recently with the arrival of several large migrant caravans from Central America during the past year.</s>The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico (AP) — Authorities in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas say at least 25 Central American migrants have died when the truck they were traveling in overturned.

The Chiapas state prosecutor’s office said in a statement late Thursday that 29 others were injured in the accident. It appears the driver lost control of the truck around 6 p.m. near the town of Francisco Sarabia in the municipality of Soyalo.

The injured were transported to hospitals. Authorities did not provide the nationalities of the victims, and say the investigation continues.

Chiapas is the historic entry point for Central American migrants arriving in Mexico from Guatemala. The normal migratory flow has attracted additional attention will the arrival of several large migrant caravans from Central America during the past year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>A truck smuggling a group of Central American migrants crashed in southern Mexico leaving 23 dead and injuring 31 passengers.

The vehicle was traveling on a road connecting the cities of Ixtapa and Soyaló in the state of Chiapas when it allegedly experienced mechanical problems, according to investigators. A young girl was among the dead.

The truck veered out of its lane before flipping and crashing at about 6pm on Thursday, about 155 miles north of the Mexico-Guatemala border.

The southern state of Chiapas borders with Guatemala and has served as a strategic point for Central American migrants heading to the Mexico-United States border.

Thousands continue to descend upon Guatemalan towns and stream across the Mexican borders before continuing the dangerous trek northward in hopes of applying for and being granted asylum by the Trump administration.

The continuous stream of Central American migrants at the southern border entry sites has been a driving force behind President Donald Trump's agenda to demand that congressional leaders approve funding for his multi-billion dollar border wall.

President Trump claimed Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security is apprehending people on the Mexico-U.S. border at a pace that would reach 1 million by the end of 2019.

'We are on track to APPREHEND more than one million people coming across the Southern Border this year,' he said in a tweet.

Images of the accident showed dozens of victims laying on the road and next to the truck.

The victims were part of the latest migrant caravan seeking the American dream, fleeing the poverty and crime that has engulfed the Central America region.

The surviving victims were transported to two local hospitals where they received medical attention.

According to the Mexican Red Cross, the dead and injured victims were Salvadorean and Guatemalan nationals.

Authorities were not able to confirm the exact number of passengers involved in the accident.</s>MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A cargo truck without license plates careened off a road in southern Mexico and turned over, killing at least 25 people inside, state officials said Thursday night.

Nearly 30 people were reported injured in the accident involving an approximately three-ton Ford Super Duty pick-up truck attached to a cargo container, according to a statement from the Chiapas attorney general’s office.

The crash happened around dusk on a highway about 25 miles (41 km) northeast of Tuxtla-Gutierrez, the capital of southern Chiapas state which borders Guatemala.

Officials did not give a breakdown of the victims’ nationalities but said they were Central Americans. Chiapas is a major transit point for migrants, especially from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, as many trek through Mexico on their way to the U.S. border.

Media reported that investigators are considering the possibility that the driver of the truck lost control due to a mechanical failure, citing other state authorities.</s>A truck packed with Central American migrants swerved off a highway in southern Mexico late Thursday, leaving at least 25 dead and 29 injured, officials said.

The accident happened in Chiapas state which borders Guatemala, the state attorney general’s office said in a statement.

The three-ton truck ran off the road and overturned, it said. Every year thousands of Central Americans, mainly from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, attempt dangerous trips through Mexico trying to reach the United States.

Many travel in group caravans for safety, while others hire people traffickers who put them in overcrowded trucks with appalling and sanitary conditions.

In October a caravan with as many as 7,000 people traveled through Mexico all the way to Tijuana on the border with California before eventually disbanding.
A truck overturns on a highway in Chiapas, Mexico, killing 25 Central American migrants who were hiding inside.