At least 21 people were killed and up to 20 injured in a multi-vehicle accident on Wednesday morning on a highway in the state of Puebla.
Emergency personnel responded quickly, but 18 of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and three more died after being transported to hospitals in nearby Tehuacán.
🚨🔔⚡🇲🇽 | Accidente en la autopista Cuacnopalan-Oaxaca, tragedia vial que dejó un saldo preliminar de al menos 20 a 21 personas fallecidas y varios heridos. Según reportes, el choque múltiple tuvo lugar alrededor del kilómetro 28-31, cerca de Tehuacán, Puebla, e involucró tres… pic.twitter.com/uTUwepJHM6
— Azteca (@MORRIS80766176) May 15, 2025
Details of the crash remain unclear, but media reports indicate a tanker truck crossed into the opposite lane, causing the accident.
According to early reports, the truck attempted to pass another vehicle, entered oncoming traffic, sideswiped a bus, and then crashed head-on with a transport van, which carried at least 16 of the victims.
The truck rolled about 20 feet down an embankment and exploded. Both occupants of the truck were pronounced dead at the scene.
Puebla Interior Minister Samuel Aguilar said emergency personnel from state and federal Civil Protection agencies were on the scene quickly, aided by the National Guard, Puebla state police and officials from the Federal Highway and Bridges agency.
The accident occurred at kilometer 31 on Federal Highway 135, which connects Tehuacán, Puebla, with Oaxaca City, Oaxaca. The highway was closed down for several hours as emergency personnel tended to the victims and authorities began carrying out an investigation.
Authorities are investigating whether the driver of the tanker truck did indeed try to pass the bus on the two-lane highway or if he lost control after experiencing mechanical problems.
The owners of the passenger van — Corporativo Turístico Smart Transports — said they would pay all medical and funeral costs for their passengers. The company confirmed that 16 of the 20 people on board, including the driver, were killed.
The bus company, AU, said it would also pay medical and funeral expenses for affected passengers.
On Thursday, Section 23 of the SNTE teachers union said eight of those killed in the accident were school teachers in Tehuacán. May 15 is Teachers’ Day in Mexico.
Deadly accidents on Mexico’s steep, winding roads are not uncommon. On March 10, at least 33 people died in two unrelated accidents, one in Oaxaca and the other in the northern state of Durango.
With reports from El Universal, Infobae, Radio Formula and Reuters
