39 killed in fire at detention centre on US-Mexico border; Prez Obrador says migrants set mattresses ablaze

At least 39people were killed after a fire broke out at a migration detention centre near the United States and Mexico border, on early Tuesday (March 28), said the government's National Migration Institute (INM). The incident took placelate Monday just before 10:00 pmin Mexico’s northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texasin a facility run by the INM.

The INM "of the Interior Ministry regrets the deaths -- so far -- of 39 foreign migrants, caused by a fire," said the government agency in a statement.It added, 68 adult men from Central and South America werestaying at the facility.

Some 29 migrants were injured and were taken tofour hospitals in the area, said the INM.

The national immigration agency also said that it "energetically rejects the actions that led to this tragedy”, without any further explanations about what thoseactions might have been.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Meanwhile, Mexico’s prosecutor general has begun an investigation into the incident, said the federal deputy of Ciudad Juarez, Andrea Chávez, in a statement on Facebook. Notably,Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants entering the US.

However, hours later, Mexico's PresidentAndrés Manuel López Obradorcalledthe incident unfortunate and said that the fire was started bymigrants who set mattresses ablazein protest after learning they would be deported, said a report by the Associated Press. He added, "They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune."

Reports suggest that a large number of the victims wereVenezuelan migrants. However,a Mexican official, who was not named, told Reuters that among those who diedincluded migrants from Guatemala and Honduras.

AVenezuelan woman standing outside theimmigration centre told AFP that her27-year-old husband had been detained there. "He was taken away in an ambulance," the woman named Vinagly toldthe news agency,adding thather husband had documents allowing him to remain in Mexico. "They (immigration officials) don't tell you anything. A family member can die and they don't tell you he's dead,"said Vinagly.

In a separate statement to Reuters, theVenezuelan national said that her husbandwas in a holding cell inside the facility when the fire started and survived by dousing himself in water and pressing against a door.

The incident took place in a facility located at Stanton-Lerdo Bridge, which links Mexico and the US. In recent weeks, the Mexican cityof Ciudad Juárez has witnessed an influx of people. The fire is also said to beone of the deadliest to hit the country in years.

CCTV footage shows guards walking away

Video from the scene shows guards quickly walking away after the migrants set mattresses on fire.Two people dressed as guards can be seen rushing into the camera frame, and one migrant appears by the metal gate on the other side. But the guards don't make any effort to open the cell doors, the video shows. They can instead be seen running away as billowing clouds of smoke filled the structure within seconds.

Adán Augusto López, Mexico’s interior secretary, confirmed to local journalist Joaquín López Doriga that the video is authentic.Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the migrants started the fire after learning they would be deported.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.