Mr. Pala, a local government official, stated on the social media platform X that 18 people died at the scene and another three died later in hospital. He confirmed that several other individuals were injured and are receiving medical treatment. Local media reports indicate the collision involved a tanker truck, a bus, and a van.
The Mexican newspaper La Jornada reported that the accident took place when a cement truck attempted to overtake a van. According to the report, the truck crossed into the opposite lane, struck the bus, and then collided head-on with a transport van before tumbling into a ravine and bursting into flames. Video shared by a local journalist on social media shows a large cloud of dark smoke rising from the ravine and a long section of road railing torn away. The BBC has not verified this video.
This incident follows a pattern of severe highway accidents in Mexico in recent years. In February, dozens of people died in a bus crash in Tabasco, in southern Mexico. The current crash highlights ongoing safety concerns regarding heavy vehicle operations and highway infrastructure in the region.
Separately, a distinct accident occurred on Saturday afternoon at the San Marcos Huixtoco toll plaza on the Mexico City-Puebla highway, killing 19 people and injuring at least three. In that incident, a transport truck carrying 6,000 liters of textile glue lost its brakes while traveling toward the capital. The truck crashed through the tollbooths and collided head-on with vehicles heading in the opposite direction. A deputy fire department chief in Chalco, the municipality where the accident occurred, stated that the vehicles’ own gasoline fueled the subsequent blaze, noting that the textile glue was not flammable.
Firefighters arrived shortly after the Saturday crash and controlled the fire approximately 40 minutes later. Capufe, the federal agency responsible for highways and bridges, confirmed that 19 people, including the truck driver and two children, died in that accident. The San Marcos Huixtoco toll plaza remained closed for seven hours, causing significant traffic backups before reopening just before 8:00 p.m.
Authorities noted that vehicles traveling toward Mexico City traverse a pronounced downward slope before reaching the toll plaza. Although emergency escape ramps exist before the toll booths, the truck involved in the Saturday crash did not use them. This location has seen similar incidents in the past, including a 2019 crash with no injuries, a September accident involving a sugar truck that killed two people, and an October incident involving a molasses tanker that injured three.
