Mexico Migrants: Deadly Fire at Juárez Migrant Centre; 39 Dead in Fire at Immigration Facility in Mexico Near US Border, Officials Say

Mexico migrants: Deadly fire at Juárez migrant centre:

A deadly fire has spread through a migrant processing centre in Ciudad Juárez on the US-Mexico border.

At least 39 people died in the blaze, Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) said.

Sixty-eight men from Central and South America were inside the INM-run centre when the fire broke out shortly before 22:00 local time (04:00 GMT).

Photos from the scene show body bags lined up on the pavement outside.

Local media say the migrants inside the building where the blaze happened had been picked up by the authorities on Monday and taken to the centre. The facility is located near the Stanton-Lerdo Bridge, which links Mexico and the US.

There has been no official statement about what may have caused the blaze but local newspapers reported that there had been a disturbance inside just before the fire.

Many of the victims are thought to be Venezuelans trying to make their way to the United States.

Ciudad Juárez, the Mexican city located just across the Rio Grande river from El Paso, Texas, has seen an influx of people in recent weeks. —>READ MORE HERE

39 dead in fire at immigration facility in Mexico near US border, officials say:

More than three dozen migrants have died in a fire in a dormitory at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico near the U.S. border, immigration officials said Tuesday.

The fire broke out late Monday at the National Immigration Institute (INM), a facility in Ciudad Juarez, which sits south of El Paso, Texas.

Thirty-nine people have died and 29 injuries have been reported so far, INM confirmed in a statement posted to Twitter early Tuesday. The people who were injured were transferred to four nearby hospitals for immediate care, INM said.

INM said 68 men from Central and South America were staying at the immigration facility at the time of the fire. Authorities were working with other countries to identify the migrants who died.

What caused the fire?

Authorities did not immediately release information about what may have caused the fire, but the INM said it “energetically rejects the actions that led to this tragedy,” without further explaining what those actions may have been.

Authorities are investigating the fire, INM said. The country’s prosecutor general has launched an investigation, said Andrea Chávez, federal deputy of Ciudad Juarez, in a statement. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission was also alerted. An inquiry into the fire was launched by Mexico’s attorney general’s office. —>READ MORE HERE

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