At least 27 people were killed Sunday in a collision between a cargo truck and a pickup truck carrying passengers in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, according to local authorities.
The fire that resulted from the spectacular crash on the highway that connects Ciudad Victoria with Zaragoza made it difficult to count the victims, who were completely burned.
Initially, 13 deaths were reported, but the state prosecutor's office adjusted the figure upwards on Sunday night after conducting expert reports at the scene of the accident, the Tamaulipas Public Security Secretariat reported.
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Among the dead are men, women and children believed to belong to the same extended family that had rented the vehicle to travel from Veracruz to Nuevo León, according to local media. But authorities have not confirmed these reports or revealed further details about their identities.
Firefighters who responded to the scene struggled for hours to put out the blaze.
The flames consumed a good part of the two vehicles, but the trailer that pulled the cargo trailer was not found at the scene, which has raised suspicions that the driver may have uncoupled it to flee the scene.
The Excelsior newspaper reported that the bed of the cargo truck was equipped with refrigerators to transport perishable goods and that it had plates from the neighboring state of Nuevo León.
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Authorities have not clarified the cause of the crash but said they are investigating.
Similar crashes in Mexico in the past, in which large numbers of people have died, have been determined to be due to overloaded vehicles linked to migrant smuggling.
