53 Dead, More Than 55 Injured After Cargo Truck Packed With Migrants Crashes in Mexico
View of the truck wreckage after it crashed into a bus in the Potrero-Alamo road stretch, in Veracruz state, on April 20, 2012. Forty three people were killed and 20 were injured Friday after a truck crashed into a bus carrying agricultural workers in Mexico's eastern Veracruz state, officials said. SERGIO HERNANDEZ/AFP via Getty Images

At least 53 people died, and 58 were injured after a cargo truck rolled over and crashed into a bridge in Mexico on Thursday.

The crash happened on a highway near Tuxtla Gutierrez, the state capital of Chiapas, The Guardian reported. According to BBC, the truck overturned on a dangerous bend and hit a pedestrian bridge on a main road leading to Tuxtla Gutierrez.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took to Twitter on Thursday to share his condolences. He said what happened was "very painful."

"I deeply regret the tragedy caused by the overturning of a trailer in Chiapas carrying Central American migrants. It is very painful. I hug the families of the victims," the Mexican president said in his translated tweet.

Victims of the Truck Crash in Mexico

Authorities said more than 100 people, believed to be migrants, crammed into the truck's trailer as it sped along the highway.

Local officials noted that most of the migrants were from Central America, particularly from Honduras and Guatemala. But the Los Angeles Times reported that some of the victims were also from Asia and Africa. Emergency responders have yet to confirm the nationalities of the said victims.

Local officials said the weight of the truck's human cargo might have triggered the accident. The Mexican attorney general's office said at least 40 people of those injured had serious wounds and were taken to local hospitals.

Photos of the scene showed rows of what appeared to be bodies covered in white sheets, while the other victims, who survived, strewn across the road next to the overturned truck.

The incident smashed open the container due to the impact of the crash. It was unclear whether the driver survived the accident. The truck was reportedly used for transporting perishable goods.

Rescue workers, who first arrived at the scene, said more migrants had been aboard the truck when it crashed, and many had fled for fear of being detained by immigration agents.

A paramedic noted that some migrants, who fled the scene to the surrounding neighborhoods, were bloodied or bruised. Chiapas, which neighbors Guatemala, is a significant transit point for undocumented migrants.

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei has offered consular assistance, including the repatriation of bodies.

"I deeply regret the tragedy in the State of Chiapas and I sympathize with the families of the victims to whom we offer all the necessary consular assistance, including repatriations," Giammattei tweeted.

The incident is reportedly one of the worst accidents of its kind in Mexico.

Migrants in Mexico Paid $2,500-$3,500 to Smugglers

The Guardian reported that those who spoke to survivors said the migrants were told to pay between $2,500 and $3,500 to board the truck and be transported to Mexico's central state of Puebla.

They would then be contracted with another set of migrant smugglers after their arrival in Puebla to take them to the U.S. border.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants from Central America reportedly flee from their country over poverty and violence. Many of them pay smugglers to illegally transport them into the U.S. borders via crowded and dangerous trucks.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Preventable Accident Tips For Truckers That Really Work - From Smart Trucking