Death Toll in Mexico Bus Accident Rises to 17

Local authorities on Monday confirmed the death of two more people, bringing to 17 the number of migrants from Central America, Colombia and Venezuela killed in Sunday's accident on a highway in Puebla, central Mexico. 

RELATED:
Four Latin American Nations Reject Israel's Moves in Palestine

In a press conference, the Secretary of the Interior of Puebla, Julio Miguel Huerta Gómez, said that the two people reported dead were in the General Hospital of Tehuacán. They were among the 15 people who were hospitalized after Sunday's accident.

"Unfortunately, 45 people were traveling, 15 of whom lost their lives at the time of the accident, of both sexes," according to the official, who added that of those hospitalized, five are in serious health condition and eight are about to be discharged.

The bus crashed around 2:30 local time on the Oaxaca-Cuacnopalan highway, Puebla, at kilometer 88, said Gómez, noting that the passengers "are people of foreign origin, all apparently without documents, from Colombia, Venezuela and Central America."

An accident on the Oaxaca-Cuacopalan highway accumulates 17 migrants dead. In a few hours the number of migrants from Central America, Colombia and Venezuela who lost their lives in Sunday's accident on the Puebla highway has risen to 17.

On February 7, another 14 migrants died in an accident in the state of Nuevo León, on the border with the U.S. Reports from humanitarian organizations indicate that, in 2022, 900 migrants died in their attempt to reach the U.S.

According to the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (Comar), the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Puebla suffer from the constant trafficking of migrants to the U.S. by locally organized crime mafias. 

Last year marked a record migration flow, with 2.76 million undocumented migrants detained at the U.S.-Mexico border. Also, in 2022, Mexico received 118 478 asylum requests, representing an average of more than 30 requests per day, according to Comar.