Migrants start fire at immigration detention center

At the time of the blaze, 68 men from Central and South America were being held at the facility, the agency said.

By

National News

March 28, 2023 - 3:21 PM

Authorities work at the site of a deadly fire at an immigration detention center, where covered bodies lie on the ground in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico, starting a fire that killed at least 40 people, the president said Tuesday, in one of the deadliest events ever at a Mexican immigration lockup.

Hours after the fire broke out late Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, which is across from El Paso, Texas, and a major crossing point for migrants. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue swarmed the scene.

Twenty-nine people were injured and are in “delicate-serious” condition, according to the National Immigration Institute.

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