Mass escape from abandoned truck after recent deaths in Mexico

• At least 94 people, predominantly Guatemalans, discovered in and around abandoned lorry.
• Lorry was on its way to US border when driver abandoned it ahead of a checkpoint.
Advertisement
• To escape the suffocating heat, they fought their way out of the lorry’s top.

A group of migrants has escaped from an abandoned truck in Mexico, less than a month after more than 50 people perished in similar circumstances in the United States.

According to paramedics, the lorry was on its way to the US border when the driver abandoned it ahead of a checkpoint.

To escape the suffocating heat, they fought their way out of the lorry’s top.

On Wednesday night, authorities discovered at least 94 people, predominantly Guatemalans, in and around the lorry. Others are thought to have fled.

Many of those discovered had ankle and knee injuries from jumping from the top of the car.

According to paramedics, one unconscious male was brought to the hospital.

Around 21:20, authorities were summoned (02:20 GMT Thursday).

According to José Domnguez, director of civil protection in adjacent Oluta, employees at a petrol station near where the lorry was abandoned assisted the migrants in escaping.

The national guard and navy of Mexico patrolled the area, looking for anybody who could be hidden in the adjacent bushes.

According to Cristóbal Cisneros Valencia, a civil protection paramedic, the migrants “started to feel smothered” and banged the trailer’s roof until they burst through and could jump out.

Another paramedic, Kenia Daz, claimed some of the people had fled because they were afraid for their safety.

According to Guatemala’s foreign ministry, 89 of those discovered were Guatemalans, including 55 adults, with the remainder being youngsters and families. According to Mr Domnguez, there were also five Hondurans, four Ecuadorians, two Indians, one Salvadoran, and one Nepali.

It follows the June death of 53 individuals in an abandoned lorry in San Antonio, Texas, in the deadliest human trafficking episode in US history.

The victims were thought to have died of heat exhaustion and dehydration because the truck’s air conditioning was broken and they had no access to water.

Also Read

94 migrants flee in truck in Mexico amid suffocation

At least 94 migrants were forced to smash their way out of...