24 dead in Mexico as bus crashes after hitting trailer that detached from truck

MEXICO CITY — A bus tipped over in central Mexico after colliding with a trailer that detached from a truck transporting corn, killing 24 people and injuring five, Mexican authorities said Saturday.

The crash happened at midnight Friday when the bus was leaving Tepic in the western Mexico state of Nayarit bound for Ciudad Juarez in northern Mexico. The injured were being treated at a hospital in Zacatecas.

Juan Manríquez Moreno, coordinator of the National Guard in Zacatecas, said in a video statement shared on social media that the truck trailer detached on a highway. The passenger bus collided with the trailer and tipped over on its right side.

Rodrigo Reyes Mugüerza, secretary general of the government in Zacatecas, also shared a statement from the scene of the accident. “We send our solidarity and condolences to all the families and people who have lost a loved one in this unfortunate accident,” he said.

He added that the highway where the crash happened was closed as officials secured the area. Authorities said they will soon release the name of the injured for families to locate them.