At least 39 migrants have died in a fire at an immigration detention centre in northern Mexico near the U.S. border, federal officials said.
Another 29 people suffered injuries in the nighttime fire at the facility in Ciudad Juarez
At least 39 migrants have died in a fire at an immigration detention centre in northern Mexico near the U.S. border, federal officials said.
Images from the scene showed rows of bodies lying under silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas.
Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue could also be seen.
Thirty-nine people died and 29 were injured in the fire, which broke out late Monday, according to the National Immigration Institute. The fire was detected at approximately 10 p.m. local time.
Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants entering the United States. Its shelters are full of migrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have requested asylum in the United States and are waiting out the process.
Mexico’s attorney general’s office has launched an inquiry and has investigators at the scene, according to media reports.