13 people died in a crash between a utility vehicle (SUV) and a cargo truck on a road in the south The us, Entered the country through a hole in the border fence with Mexico.
Accident occurred between vehicles on State Route 115 CaliforniaAbout 16 km from the border with Mexico. SUV carried 25 people.
According to US immigration officials, the hole was apparently opened by smugglers. Gregory Bovino, head of the Border Patrol’s El Centro sector, says that A. Border surveillance video shows two vehicles (a Ford Expedition and a Chevrolet Suburban) passing through the hole.
The suburb was carrying 19 people and after entering the United States opened fire on a highway for unknown reasons. All the immigrants managed to escape and were detained by agents patrolling the border.
The expedition, carrying 25 people, managed to continue the path, but was hit by a tow tractor, which washed away the gravel. Ten of the 13 dead were identified as Mexican citizens. The Border Patrol said its agents were not following the vehicle at the time of the accident.
VIDEO: 13 killed in accident between SUV and truck on road in USA
The opening in the fence was about 50 km from the crash site, in the middle of California’s Imperial Valley, an important agricultural area at harvest height, that supplies lettuce, onions, broccoli and winter vegetables to supermarkets.
The physical barrier was made of steel cables before former President Donald Trump covered the barriers going deep into the ground. But photographs show that eight steel posts were seen at the base to allow immigrants entry.
The head of the Border Patrol’s El Centro sector said, “Human smugglers have proven time and again that they have little connection to human life.”
“People who are thinking about crossing the border illegally should stop thinking about the dangers that often end in tragedies,” Bovino said. “The tragedies that our Border Patrol agents and first responders are, unfortunately, are very familiar with.”
The SUV was built to carry eight people safely, But smugglers often fill vehicles with people, in extremely unsafe conditions, to maximize their profits.
According to Omar Watson, head of the California Highway Patrol’s Border Division, the vehicle seats were removed, except for the driver and front passenger.
The accident occurred in an area that became the main route for illegal border crossings since the late 1990s, pushing illegal immigration into more remote areas after increased enforcement in San Diego.
Security officers work at the scene of an SUV accident on Tuesday (2) in Holtville, California with immigrants and a truck – Photo: Gregory Bull / AP
