At least 39 people die after a fire in a center of the National Institute of Migration in Ciudad Juárez

At least 39 migrants died and another 29 were injured in a fire that occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Monday at a center of the National Institute of Migration (INM) in Ciudad Juárez, located on the Stanton-Lerdo International Bridge that connects with El Paso, Texas, as reported by the Mexican authorities on Tuesday.

All the victims were adults from Central and South America, and were detained inside the premises, the INM explained in a statement, which did not provide details on how the flames originated.

Mexican authorities and firefighters stand next to dead bodies, as they remove injured migrants, mostly Venezuelans, from inside the National Institute of Migration (INM) building during a fire, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico March 27, 2023. José Luis González / Reuters

The Diario de Juárez said that the fire started in the area reserved for men, while an official source revealed to the newspaper El País that the incident broke out with the burning of mattresses.

"It's a tragedy," the source said.

The local authorities had arrested some 70 migrants that same day for allegedly causing disturbances on public roads.

All of them were transferred to the INM facilities in Ciudad Juárez and distributed in padlocked cells, according to the same source cited by El País.

"They set fire to the mats that the building has as a sign of protest and the fire spread," a state source told El País.

[A caravan with 1,500 migrants leaves southern Mexico for the US, alleging failures in the processing of permits with CBP One]

Emergency teams, ambulances, firefighters and vans from the area's morgues came to the scene.

The 29 injured were transferred in delicate or serious condition to four hospitals in the area to receive immediate attention, according to the INM.

In the area of ​​the accident, near the Rio Grande that divides Mexico and the United States, there were dozens of bags with the bodies of the migrants who died in the fire, according to the EFE news agency.

They rescue 11 migrants in a train car in Texas.

there is a dead

March 27, 202300:35

The INM specified that it has already established the consular procedures to begin the identification of the deceased, although it did not detail which countries were contacted.

"The INM expresses its willingness to assist in legal investigations, in order to clarify these unfortunate events," he said.

The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic has already gone to the place to undertake the investigation.

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 by 8 % in Mexican territory.