Collision of bus and truck in Mexico leaves 19 dead

A fiery collision between a double-decker bus and a truck has left 19 people dead and 22 injured in northwestern Mexico, authorities said.

"Nineteen lifeless bodies have been counted," Sara Quinonez, attorney general of Sinaloa state, said in a video posted on social media on Tuesday, adding that it would take time to identify the remains.

Circulation on the highway was closed due to the accident, according to the local news outlet N+ report.

Images of the aftermath of the accident showed the charred vehicles still burning, with flames and smoke billowing out, as emergency personnel arrived on the scene.

Officials were seen inspecting the charred wreckage of the passenger bus, which had been travelling from the city of Guadalajara in the western state of Jalisco to Los Mochis in Sinaloa.

The truck and the bus — carrying nearly 50 people — collided head-on before catching fire, Roy Navarrete, director of civil protection in Sinaloa, said at a press conference.

Deadly accidents

Deadly road accidents are common in Mexico, often due to high speeds, poor vehicle conditions or driver fatigue.

Crashes involving freight trucks have also increased on the country's highways.

In one of the worst accidents in recent years, at least 29 people were killed in July 2023 when a passenger bus careened off a mountain road and plummeted into a ravine in the southern state of Oaxaca.

Road crashes are a leading cause of death among migrants making the dangerous journey overland to the United States.