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Mexico finds 24 'migrant' bodies | Mexico finds 24 'migrant' bodies |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The bodies of 24 people believed to be illegal migrants have been washed ashore in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. | The bodies of 24 people believed to be illegal migrants have been washed ashore in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. |
The dead, who were all men, were thought to be trying to get to the United States from Central America. | The dead, who were all men, were thought to be trying to get to the United States from Central America. |
The authorities suspect many more may still be in the water and a search and rescue operation is under way. | The authorities suspect many more may still be in the water and a search and rescue operation is under way. |
At this stage, bad weather is being blamed, but boats carrying illegal immigrants through Mexican waters are often overloaded or unseaworthy. | At this stage, bad weather is being blamed, but boats carrying illegal immigrants through Mexican waters are often overloaded or unseaworthy. |
The gruesome discovery came after the civil protection authorities in Oaxaca had received calls that a boat carrying illegal immigrants from Central America had capsized off the Pacific coast. | The gruesome discovery came after the civil protection authorities in Oaxaca had received calls that a boat carrying illegal immigrants from Central America had capsized off the Pacific coast. |
"This morning, we got a report that a vessel carrying undocumented migrants had capsized or gone down," Oaxaca state public safety secretary Sergio Segreste told AP news agency. | |
"The assumption is that the cause of the accident was the rough weather." | |
Correspondents say there are numerous ways in which people-smugglers take immigrants to the United States via Mexico and traffickers are constantly seeking new routes which avoid checkpoints and customs officers. | |
Often people are carried first to Mexico by boat, from where they must make a second hazardous journey across the border hidden in trucks or lorries. | Often people are carried first to Mexico by boat, from where they must make a second hazardous journey across the border hidden in trucks or lorries. |
Other journeys involve hundreds of kilometres by sea to take immigrants directly to the US coastline. | Other journeys involve hundreds of kilometres by sea to take immigrants directly to the US coastline. |
Many Cubans who leave the island travel to Mexico first rather than trying to cross the Florida straits. Illegal immigrants often pay as much as $5,000 to be taken north. | |