Truck hits migrant caravan on Oaxaca highway; 3 dead

A car accident that occurred early Thursday morning, August 29, on the Santiago Niltepec – La Blanca stretch, in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, in Oaxaca, left three dead and 15 migrants injured.

According to preliminary reports, the migrant caravan was walking through the area when it was hit by a black Nissan vehicle, with the company name ROCKET private security. The vehicle had license plates YTH337A from the state of Veracruz.

In addition, it was reported that the driver of the van was speeding.

The victims of the accident are Keyla Samara Gaytan Bravo, eight years old, and Reynaldo Mauricio Gaytan Urbina, 31 years old, of Nicaraguan nationality, who died on the spot.

The coordinator of Civil Protection and Risk Management (CEPCyGR), Manuel Maza Sánchez, reported that another adult, originally from Ecuador, died while being transferred to a hospital for medical attention.

He also mentioned that 15 migrants were injured and were transferred to hospitals in Juchitán and Ciudad Ixtepec.

Elements of the National Guard and the State Police arrived at the scene of the accident to help the injured and cordon off the area to avoid another mishap.

Migrant accidents in Oaxaca

Oaxaca is a key route for migrants trying to cross Mexico by land to reach the border with the United States and accidents involving them are frequent because groups of migrants of different sizes choose to advance north on foot and often do so before dawn to avoid the high temperatures of the day.

In April, three migrants died in a similar event on a highway. Two of them from Cameroon.

In March, the bodies of eight Asian migrants were found after a boat accident on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, and one Asian man was found to have survived. The bodies were found near the town of Playa Vicente, some 400 kilometers from the Mexican border with Guatemala.

In 2023, at least 16 migrants from Venezuela and Haiti died in a bus accident in Oaxaca.

When groups on foot are large, they are usually accompanied by security agents and are generally broken up before leaving the south of the country.

Source: elfinanciero