(CNN) — At least 54 migrants are dead after a truck with their group fell off a bridge on Mexico’s border with Guatemala, a federal official said Wednesday.
The migrant group was traveling in the truck late Tuesday when it fell more than 50 feet into a ravine, Mexico’s National Migration Institute spokesman Raul del Castillo said in a press conference.
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Del Castillo said people traveling in the truck told federal police that the bridge’s safety rail fell while the vehicle was moving.
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More than 100 people were rescued by the federal police and emergency workers, del Castillo said.
“Today we’re sad to report that (of those rescued), 54 people have died,” he said. There were at least 120 people in the truck, he said.
The death toll is likely to rise, del Castillo said. Rescuers have not yet been able to remove some bodies from the ravine, he said.
Migrant caravan
More than 1,100 migrants were on the first group of migrants who arrived in Tijuana this week, and 90 more were en route, Del Castillo said.
The migration institute was coordinating with Mexico’s Navy and Federal Police to prevent another vehicle accident, del Castillo said.
“We can’t imagine the public’s outrage … I’m sure with the necessary force of reason this will be overcome,” del Castillo said.