This handout picture released by Pijijiapan's Civil Protection shows members of the municipal police and the civil protection office rescuing migrant people after a truck accident in Pijijiapan, Chiapas state, Mexico on Oct 1, 2023. (HANDOUT / PIJIJIAPAN'S CIVIL PROTECTION / AFP)

MEXICO CITY - A freight truck smuggling 27 Cuban nationals overturned in south Mexico's border state of Chiapas, killing 10 women and seriously injuring another 17 on board, the National Migration Institute said.

The early-morning crash occurred at the coastal stretch of the Pijijiapan-Tonala highway, the agency said.

Rescue teams transferred 16 of the injured to a hospital in the city of Pijijiapan and the other to the city of Huixtla

"According to the initial reports, the driver was speeding, lost control of the unit and overturned," it said, adding that the driver had fled.

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Rescue teams transferred 16 of the injured to a hospital in the city of Pijijiapan and the other to the city of Huixtla.

Mexico is a common transit route for migrants seeking to reach the United States.