OAXACA, Mexico: The bodies of eight Chinese migrants have been found off the coast of southern Mexico after their boat capsized, authorities said Saturday.
The prosecutor’s office added that on Thursday, seven women and one man were on board the boat, which was operated by a Mexican national and was sailing from Tapachula in Chiapas, a state on the border with Guatemala.
The beach where the bodies were found Friday in Oaxaca state is along a route often used by people trying to reach the United States.
Another immigrant survived this ordeal. No word has been released on what happened to the Mexican man driving the boat.
Thousands of illegal immigrants cross Mexico each year, often fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries, heading for the U.S. border. Many are from Central America.
According to official data, migrants who were apprehended while crossing Mexico last year were nationals of China, India, Uzbekistan and other countries far from the Americas.
The influx of migrants has strained Mexico’s immigration facilities and shelters, and the administration is under increasing pressure from the United States to deal with the influx, with illegal immigration at the center of the US presidential campaign.
