From KTEP:
JUÁREZ, Mexico (KTEP) – At least 40 migrants died and dozens injured after a fire started inside a federal processing building Monday night, in one of the deadliest events ever at a Mexican immigration lockup.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador blamed immigrants for starting the fire by setting a mattress on fire, a claim that both migrants and advocates pushed back against.
Families and friends of the victims are mourning their deaths and calling on the Mexican government to hold immigration authorities accountable. The circumstances of the fire are still under investigation.
The Instituto Nacional de Migración, Mexico’s immigration agency, said a fire was reported at one of its centers around 10 o’clock on Monday night. The center, which abuts an international port of entry with the U.S., had a total of 83 people inside at the time of the fire, including immigration employees, according to the agency.
Dozens of other individuals inside the center were transported to local hospitals for serious injuries. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency on Tuesday allowed some individuals to cross into El Paso for treatment at centers in El Paso.
According to Mexican federal immigration authorities, there were 68 men, mostly from Venezuela, and other Central or South American countries inside. Moreover, about 15 women were being held in another part of the facility. Staff from the Medical Examiner’s Office arrived late Monday night at the immigration center.
At least a dozen bodies were laid out in the parking lot. They were wrapped in reflective thermal blankets as they were loaded into trucks marked as forensics.
Various law enforcement including Mexico’s National Guard blocked off the street leading to the immigration facility while medical examiners walked the site.
“The National Institute of Migration strongly rejects the acts that led to this tragedy,” the agency said in a statement.
