Dozens killed in fire at migrant facility in Mexico
Maria Verza |
More than three dozen migrants have died in a fire at an immigration detention centre in northern Mexico near the US border, an official says.
Images from the scene on Tuesday showed rows of bodies lying under silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue could also be seen.
Thirty-nine people died and 29 were injured in the fire, which broke out late Monday, according to an official with the National Immigration Institute, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the case.
Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants entering the United States. Its shelters are full of migrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have requested asylum in the United States and are waiting out the process.
Mexico’s attorney-general’s office has launched an inquiry and has investigators at the scene, according to media reports.
AP
