A landslide on the Oaxaca-Mexico City highway left six people injured and the roadway closed for several hours on Monday night.

Three vehicles were crushed when a retaining wall broke and part of the mountainside fell onto the highway 47 kilometers southeast of Tehuacán, on the Oaxaca side of the state line, at around 10:00pm.

One of the vehicles was overturned completely and one of the victims was reported to be in critical condition due to several serious injuries.

Federal Police and Red Cross paramedics were the first on the scene. They rushed the injured motorists to hospitals in Tehuacán while personnel from the Federal Highways and Bridges Agency (Capufe) worked to clear the road.

The National Guard was also called to the scene to redirect traffic via the Tehuacán-Huajuapan de León highway. The main highway was closed to traffic for five to six hours while the debris was removed.

Sources: Milenio (sp), El Sol de Puebla (sp)