Huerta said the accident occurred Sunday on a highway leading from the southern state of Oaxaca. He said the migrants appeared to have been traveling without appropriate documents.
Fifteen of the 45 passengers died at the scene, and two more died at a hospital. Five were hospitalized and in critical condition, and eight others apparently suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
MEXICAN BEACH TOWN ANNOUNCES MAJOR CRACKDOWN AMID COUNTRY'S CRIME CRISIS AHEAD OF SPRING BREAK
17 migrants were killed, and 13 others were hurt in a bus crash in central Mexico. (Fox News)
Huerta said all the migrants were adults.
Migrants frequently use trucks and buses to travel through Mexico to reach the U.S. border. Because they are often crammed into unsafe, illegal or clandestine transportation, accidents are not uncommon.
In 2021 a truck carrying migrants overturned on a highway near the southern city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, killing 56 people.