Strong winds in Oaxaca’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec caused a semitrailer to roll over on the La Ventosa-La Venta highway on Friday, the first such accident of the region’s windy season.

The truck was carrying a load of (empty) coffins from Chiapas to Mexico City when gusts from Cold Front No. 13 knocked it over at 5:00pm. The driver was unharmed.

Federal Police and Civil Protection officers temporarily closed the highway to traffic while the truck was removed. State police officers assisted in order to prevent looting.

Civil Protection suspended the transit of empty semitrailers in the area in order to avoid more rollovers.

“We’re stopping vehicles with empty trailers coming from Chiapas or coming from Veracruz. They will not be allowed to pass,” said Jesús González Pérez, Civil Protection delegate.

Many drivers also stopped on their own volition in order to wait out winds of up to 120 km/h before continuing on their way.

The Isthmus of Tehuantepec will continue to see strong winds for a few months, as the cold front season will last until April. Rollovers are common during this period. In January alone there were eight involving tractor-trailers.

Source: El Universal (sp), Noticieros Televisa (sp)