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Accident site near El Centro
Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP
At least 13 people were killed in a serious accident involving a truck and an SUV in southern California.
Twelve people died at the scene of the accident near the Mexican border, and another in hospital, said a representative of the highway police in the US state.
Previously, a team of doctors from the Regional Medical Center in the city of El Centro had spoken of 15 dead.
At least five seriously injured people were brought to other hospitals in the region by helicopter.
According to the motorway police, there were 25 people between the ages of 16 and 53 in the completely overcrowded SUV.
According to the information, the driver of the car, a 22-year-old from the Mexican border town of Mexicali, is among the dead.
The fatalities were between 20 and 55 years old.
California Highway Patrol's Omar Watson described a chaotic accident scene.
Some occupants were thrown from the vehicle, others had to be freed from the crushed car by helpers.
The driver of the truck was injured, it said.
Vehicle approved for eight people
The accident occurred on Tuesday morning in the rural Imperial County district, near El Centro, about 10 miles from the Mexican border.
The car collided with the gravel truck at an intersection, Watson said.
It is unclear whether the car had previously stopped at a stop sign.
The cause of the accident is still being investigated.
The left side of the SUV, a Ford Expedition according to the police, was completely demolished by the force of the impact.
Watson told ABC that it was "unbelievable" that so many people had been in the vehicle.
There were only two seats for the driver and front passenger, and there were no seats and seat belts in the back.
Police spokesman Arturo Platero told the Los Angeles Times that the vehicle was designated for use by eight people.
According to the Mexican government, at least ten were Mexicans among the fatalities.
"The booth is too early to say what they did here and where they came from," Watson said.
"We're working with the Mexican consulate to find out exactly who was in the vehicle and to make sure the next of kin are informed." The southern California region is a major transit route for Mexican immigrants and farm workers.
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wit / dpa / AFP
