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News|Migration

Photos: Fire kills dozens at Mexico migrant centre near US border

Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for refugees and migrants entering the United States.

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t least 39 migrants killed in fire in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez
Mexican authorities and firefighters remove injured people, mostly Venezuelans, from inside the National Migration Institute building. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]
By News Agencies
Published On 28 Mar 202328 Mar 2023

At least 39 people have died after a fire broke out at a migrant facility in the Mexican northern border city of Ciudad Juarez.

Hours after the fire broke out late on Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility, across from El Paso, Texas.

Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue swarmed the scene.

At least 29 people were injured, according to an official from the National Immigration Institute, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for people entering the United States. Its shelters are full of migrants and refugees 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.

t least 39 migrants killed in fire in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez
Viangly, from Venezuela, reacts outside an ambulance for her injured husband Eduard Caraballo. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]
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t least 39 migrants killed in fire in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez
At least 39 people died in the fire. Twenty-nine injured people were taken to hospitals, said Mexico’s National Immigration Institute in a statement. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]
Ambulances arrive to the scene of the fire
Images from the scene showed ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue around the smoke-covered facility with rows of bodies lying under shimmery silver sheets. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]
t least 39 migrants killed in fire in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez
Children from Venezuela watch as Mexican authorities and firefighters remove the injured. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]
t least 39 migrants killed in fire in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez
The facility was holding 68 adult men from Central and South America. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]
t least 39 migrants killed in fire in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez
Mexico’s attorney general’s office launched an inquiry and has investigators at the scene, according to media reports. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]
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t least 39 migrants killed in fire in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez
The fire, one of the deadliest to hit the country in years, occurred as the US and Mexico are experiencing record levels of crossings at their shared border. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]
t least 39 migrants killed in fire in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez
About 200,000 people try to cross into the US from Mexico each month. [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters]

Related

  • Fire at migrant detention facility in Mexico kills 38 men

    Another 28 people injured in deadly blaze at an immigration holding centre in Ciudad Juarez near the US border.

    Published On 28 Mar 202328 Mar 2023
    Viangly, a Venezuelan migrant, reacts outside an ambulance for her injured husband Eduard Caraballo while Mexican authorities and firefighters remove injured migrants, mostly Venezuelans, from inside the National Migration Institute (INM) building during a fire, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico March 27, 2023

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