CNN
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A bus crash in the Mexican state of Oaxaca killed 16 people on Friday, according to local authorities, who say most of the passengers were migrants.
The victims included three children and two women, all from Venezuela and Haiti, the Oaxaca state attorney general said. At least 27 people were injured and taken to nearby hospitals.
Photos posted by authorities on Facebook show the large bus overturned and badly damaged on a bend on the mountainous Oaxaca-Cuacnopalan highway.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash, which took place at 5 a.m. local time (7 a.m. ET). The Oaxaca state attorney general’s office initially announced that 18 people had died in the accident, then revised its count Friday evening.
The tragedy follows the deaths of at least 10 Cuban migrants, including a child, on Sunday when the truck they were traveling in also overturned in southern Mexico, according to local authorities.
Venezuela and Haiti are a source of many migrants heading north, fleeing insecurity and economic crisis in their countries.
U.S. and Mexican authorities have struggled to respond to the arrivals, with Washington putting increasing pressure on Mexico City to take more responsibility for people crossing into its territory.
Food shortages and limited access to health care have driven more than 7.7 million people from Venezuela alone – a scale of displacement that exceeds that of Ukraine, where there is an active war.
On Thursday, senior Biden administration officials said the United States would resume expelling Venezuelans directly to Venezuela to try to curb the record influx, marking a major policy shift.
Meanwhile, Haiti is awaiting a new multinational mission to help restore order in the country, currently plagued by uncontrolled gang violence, kidnappings and food insecurity.