Deadly fire in a migrant center: a video shows the start of the disaster
A video, authenticated by authorities, showed on Tuesday what would be the start of a fire that claimed the lives of 40 migrants in Mexico.
Candles and flowers in tribute to the victims, March 28, 2023 in Ciudad Juarez.
AFP
A fire that takes place behind bars where men are locked up, officers who leave with their backs to them: the 32-second video was broadcast by several media in the hours following the fire fatal in a facility of the National Institute of Migration (INM) in Ciudad Juarez on the border with the United States.
In the background, behind bars, to the left of the screen, flames give off an increasingly thick gray then black smoke. On the right, a man is kicking against a door that appears to be closed while another appears to be placing a mattress at the foot of the bars. They then retreat with other individuals.
In the foreground, on the other side of the cell, three officers, two of whom are in uniform, retire offscreen with their backs to them.
The last 15 seconds of the video shows fire and smoke filling the entire room, with the migrants on the other side of the door.
Violent reactions
“I know this video,” said government secretary (Minister of the Interior) Adan Augusto Lopez, adding that he “disapproves” of its release. “This video, we had it since last night. But in order not to hinder the investigations, out of respect for the victims, we must be careful, ”he added.
The video sparked backlash against authorities accused of negligence on social media.
According to the President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, it was migrants who lit the fire to “protest”: “We assume that they learned that they were going to be expelled, moved,” he said. “They put mattresses at the door of the reception center and set them on fire, without imagining that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” he lamented, during his daily press conference.
AFP
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