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Fatal collision: Crosses near the scene of the accident in Southern California
Photo: BING GUAN / REUTERS
In the case of a serious car accident in southern California with 13 deaths, an investigation is underway by the US authorities on suspicion of people smuggling.
The border agency announced on Wednesday afternoon (local time) that the accident car may have come through a hole in the border fence from Mexico to California.
Surveillance cameras recorded two vehicles near a breakthrough in the fence on Tuesday morning.
At one point, border officials came across a burning car, near which 19 people were hiding in bushes.
According to the announcement, they should all have illegally crossed the border.
Shortly after this incident, the border guards were called to an accident site near the border town of El Centro.
At a highway junction, a truck collided with an off-road vehicle, presumably the second vehicle seen in the footage.
13 people died.
According to the highway police, there were 25 people aged 16 to 53 in the SUV.
Among the dead is the driver of the car, a man from the Mexican border town of Mexicali.
Omar Watson of California Highway Patrol told ABC on Tuesday that it was "unbelievable" that so many people were 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.
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bbr / dpa