By
The Associated Press
The National Migration Institute of Guatemala (INM) confirmed that nine Cuban migrants and two Guatemalan citizens died early Saturday morning in an accident that occurred on a highway in the south of the country.
According to the entity, after midnight on Friday an accident occurred at kilometer 134 in the department of Suchitepéquez where, according to versions collected at the scene, the van transporting the migrants collided with the back of a trailer and a motorcycle.
[Five members of a family die in an accident while returning from their vacation in Mexico]
At the site, the institution said, seven migrants died, in addition to the driver of the vehicle they were traveling in and a motorcyclist, the last two of Guatemalan origin.
Two other migrants were taken to a hospital and later died.
One more migrant was injured and is receiving medical attention.
The deceased migrants, six men and three women, "were crossing the territory on their trip to the United States," the INM said in a statement.
Eleven people died in a traffic accident in Guatemala, including nine migrants. Guatemalan Migration Institute.
"Immigration workers will support the identification process of the victims at the Mazatenango morgue, Suchitepéquez," according to the institution that has already "begun the communication process with Foreign Relations for the repatriation process."
Photographs provided by firefighters and the INM showed the bodies inside and outside the green truck that was destroyed.
The INM said that a team from the entity traveled to the scene to assist in the task of identifying each of the deceased.