4 migrants killed in Mexico truck crash return to Guatemala

The bodies of four migrants killed in a Dec. 9 truck crash in southern Mexico have been returned to their homeland, Guatemala

Guatemala Mexico Crash (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The bodies of four migrants killed in a Dec. 9 truck crash in southern Mexico have been returned to their homeland, Guatemala

The bodies arrived on a charter flight from Mexico on Saturday and were taken in hearses to their hometowns for burial.

Three of the victims were from San Marcos province, on the border with Mexico. The fourth was from the highland province of Chimaltenango. They were identified as Leonel Estuardo Gómez Zepeda, Daymen Erick Fuentes Bravo, Cecilio Federico Ovalle Cifuentes and Daniel Arnulfo Pérez Ixla.

A total of 56 migrants died when the smugglers’ truck they were riding in overturned. Most of the victims were from Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic

Assistant Foreign Minister Eduardo Hernández said six of the dead have been identified as Guatemalan citizens, and there is reason to believe another 14 are also Guatemalans.

Authorities say fingerprints have been used to identify the bodies, as well as relatives' identification of their loved ones through photographs.

More than 100 migrants were injured in the crash. Some remain hospitalized in Mexico.

The truck was packed with as many as 250 migrants, and survivors said that speed and weight of the human cargo may have played a role in the crash.