At least 37 migrants died in a fire at a station of the National Migration Institute (INM) in Ciudad Juárez, on the northern border of Mexico, as confirmed by the authorities of the North American country.
Civil Protection sources cited by the newspaper ‘El Heraldo de Chihuahua’ have indicated that another 28 people have been injured by the fire, which has already been put out.
Officials from the municipal, state and federal authorities have traveled to the scene of the event to analyze the incident, without ruling out that the number of deaths will increase, given that several injured are in critical condition.
In the area of ??the incident, near the Rio Grande that divides Mexico and the United States, EFE found dozens of bags containing the bodies of the migrants who perished in the fire.
At the station, located on the Stanton-Lerdo International Bridge that connects Ciudad Juárez with El Paso, Texas, there were dozens of detained migrants, mostly from Venezuela.
The origin of the fire is still unknown, but witnesses told local media that it started in the area where the migrant men were being held and some of them were trapped.
Before the incident, INM agents had carried out an operation to get migrants begging from the streets.
The presence of migrants in the area has intensified this year since the United States announced new measures, which include the immediate deportation of migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba who arrive by land under title 42.
The region is experiencing a record migratory flow, with 2.76 million undocumented immigrants detained at the US-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022 and, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the migratory flow increased 8% in Mexican territory.
