International

Mexico road accident leaves at least 13 dead

AFP/Guadalajara, Mexico

January 30, 2022 | 09:40 AM

An emergency crew members, including a forensic worker and a firefighter, work next to a damaged vehicle at the site of an accident after a van overturned and flipped into a ditch on a highway in central Mexico, near the city of Lagos de Moreno, Mexico. REUTERS

At least 13 people died after a bus carrying pilgrims to a religious shrine in Mexico flipped over on Saturday, authorities said.

Another 10 were injured in the accident in the western state of Jalisco.The bus was taking 23 people to the town of San Juan de Los Lagos, which hosts an annual Catholic celebration. The pilgrims were going even though this year's edition was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.The town's Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos draws an average of two million people annually.Five of those who died in Saturday's accident were thrown from the vehicle, and two were minors.Deadly road accidents are not uncommon in Mexico.Last year, at least 16 people were killed and 22 were injured in a September smash involving a bus and a truck in the northern state of Sonora.And in April, a collision between two buses carrying workers at a Sonora mine left at least 16 dead.

By AFP/Guadalajara, Mexico

January 30, 2022 | 09:40 AM