Fire at Mexico migrant facility near US border leaves 39 dead, officials say

A fire at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico, near the U.S. border, has claimed the lives of at least three dozen migrants, Mexican authorities said.

Mexico's National Institute of Migration (INM) said 39 foreign migrants died in a fire that started shortly before 10 p.m. local time on Monday, at the detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.

Images from the scene showed rows of bodies lying under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue could also be seen.

INM said that 68 men from Central and South America were staying at the facility. Of these, 29 more migrants were injured in the fire and were transported in delicate to serious condition to four local hospitals for care.

The agency said a complaint has been filed with the proper authorities to begin investigating the incident. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) was given a hearing to intervene in legal proceedings and to safeguard foreign migrants.