At least ten die as van full of migrants crashes in southern Texas

Authorities said the van was carrying as many as 30 people, mainly migrant workers, at the time when it crashed on a highway in southern Texas after the driver lost control of the vehicle.

Police said the van was overloaded with passengers when it crashed.

At least 10 people have died after a van crashed on a highway in southern Texas on August 4. The vehicle, which was carrying 30 passengers, came off the US 281 in Encino when the driver lost control on a curve, hit a utility pole and rammed into a stop sign. Brooks County Sheriff Urbino Martinez said the van was overloaded as it was designed to hold 15 passengers.

Martinez said the driver of the van died in the crash, adding that most of the passengers were migrants. Lieutenant Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety said there was no pursuit at the time of the crash.

He added that Investigators still have to notify the Mexican consulate and the next of kin. It comes months after 13 people were killed when an SUV packed with 25 migrants collided with a semi-truck in Holtville, California, near the US-Mexico border.

Encino is a small community some 90 miles (150 km) from the United States-Mexico border.

jf/sms (AP, Reuters)