San Marcos Huixtoco, State of Mexico — The bodies of 17 people have been found after an accident along the Mexico-Puebla highway on Saturday. On Sunday, the Undersecretary General of the Government of the State of Mexico, Ricardo de la Cruz Musalem, confirmed the finding of 17 bodies burned beyond recognition in the deadly accident that also left five injured.
The 17 motorists were killed at the San Marcos booth in Chalco after 12 vehicles caught fire when a cargo truck lost its brakes and crashed at the San Marcos Hixtonco toll booth.
According to the Civil Protection of the State of Mexico, 12 vehicles were involved in the accident, one of them a public transport unit as well as a vehicle from the National Migration Institute (INM).
Adrián Díaz Chávez, deputy director of the Chalco Fire Department, confirmed that the five injured were taken to nearby hospitals. Due to the magnitude of the accident, the entire area was shut while emergency services attended to the scene. Both land and air transportation was used to move the injured to hospitals.
Four of the five injured have been released from hospital. Authorities reported that DNA will be used to identify the 10 women and seven men who perished in the flames.
