Venezuelan boy dies when train carrying migrants derails

A Venezuelan child was killed and three other people were injured on Wednesday when a train derailed in Mexico. Freight train carrying migrants heading to the US borderauthorities reported.

The accident occurred in the border state of Chihuahua and caused the death of a 4-year-old child and injuries to his 7-year-old brother and mother.

The woman, 28 years old, He suffered the amputation of a foot and serious trauma to his spine, according to the Chihuahua Health Secretariat.

A 17-year-old Nicaraguan was also injured, the National Migration Institute said in a statement.

The boy was initially reported missing, but rescuers later found him dead.

“We have already recovered the body of the minor, they are transferring him to Ciudad Juárez,” Mauricio Rodriguez Padilla, head of civil protection for the northern region of Chihuahua, told AFP at the scene of the accident.

The overturn involved 12 cars of the train that was traveling between Villa Ahumada and Ciudad Juárez, about 150 kilometers from U.S. territory.

#InformationCard 📄 | @INAMI_mx assists foreigners who were victims of the train accident in Ciudad Juárez, #ChihuahuaA preliminary report states that 4 people were injured and 1 minor was missing.

🔗https://t.co/0h2HEE6vQ5 pic.twitter.com/2RZxFZE4xo

— INM (@INAMI_mx) September 4, 2024

Why do migrants travel on trains?

The site where the accident occurred is desert, so Migrants often climb onto the roof of cargo trains clandestinely. to overcome the harsh conditions.

In the same area, a year ago, nearly 1,800 migrants were stranded after the train stopped for more than 24 hours. They had to endure the low temperatures at night and the relentless sun during the day.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants cross Mexico every year to reach the United States, fleeing poverty and violence in their countries. Along the way, they often fall victim to organized crime, extortion by authorities, and accidents.

Many also travel hidden in cargo trucks, in overcrowded conditions and subjected to mistreatment by human traffickers.

Road accidents are often recorded that have claimed the lives of dozens of foreigners without papers.

In December 2021, a trailer truck carrying more than 160 people crashed into a bridge in Chiapas, leaving around fifty people dead, most of them Central Americans.