At least 25 killed in road accident in southern Mexico

MEXICO CITY, March 7 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 Central American migrants were killed and 29 others injured after a truck overturned on a highway in southern state of Chiapas in Mexico, said the state attorney general's office on Thursday.

In a statement, the authorities confirmed that the accident occurred around 6:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) in the municipality of Soyalo where a three-ton truck went off the road and flipped.

The truck has no legal license to operate and was loaded with Central American migrants, according to preliminary reports from the authorities.

Investigations have been underway to find the cause of the accident, the authorities said.

Personnel from the Mexican Red Cross, the Civil Protection agency, as well as state and local police came to help those affected in the accident.

According to witnesses, the driver of the truck had fled and the injured were taken to nearby hospitals.

Those unhurt in the accident were directed to the National Institute of Migration (INM), where they will receive integral services.

On Jan. 17, some 15,000 Central American migrants entered Mexico in a new wave of migrant caravans, seeking asylum or entering the United states, according to figures from the INM.