Video Shows Moment Deadly Fire Started At Mexico Migrant Centre

A fire at a migrant centre in Ciudad Juárez killed 38 migrants, and now a video has emerged that's led to outrage growing in Mexico.

The video shows the moment the deadly fire started at the centre that is run by the country's National Migration Institute (INM).

In the video, uniformed officials seem to walk away as the fire starts in a corner. It shows a locked cell with a group of men.

The men try to open the locked door as smoke quickly spreads but were unsuccessful in doing so.

Alejandra Corona, who is a coordinator for the Jesuit Refugee Service in Ciudad Juárez, commented on the video. She said that the view seen on it was consistent with the security camera's location at the entrance to the men's detention area, reported BBC.

Corona, who visits the facility weekly, shared that the migrant centre houses offices where migrants are processed. There are also areas where they can be detained.

The new video seems to back up the account of the wife of a Venezuelan migrant who managed to survive the fire.

Viangly Infante Padrón had said that officers had left her husband and the other male migrants "behind locked bars" as they left when the fire started.

She told the Associated Press that there was smoke everywhere, and that they let the women out and the migration staff. But it wasn't until the firefighters arrived at the scene "that they let the men out."

She shared that the men had been protesting before the fire started, as they had not been given water while they were detained.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Monday that the migrants had set mattresses on fire "when they learned that they'd be deported."

The next day, he said that a thorough investigation would be carried out. He vowed that there would be "no impunity and no one will be protected."

Mexican officials said that at least 68 men were in the facility at the time of the incident. Most of them were from Guatemala, and the others were from Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador and Honduras.

Mexican officials have revised the number of dead migrants down from 40 to 38. At least 28 are reported to be seriously injured and suffering after inhaling smoke.

Relatives of the men have shared that they have not been given enough information about their loved ones' fate and whereabouts.

Corona said that an updated list of casualties still contained erroneous information. It further heightened the anxiety among those waiting for news.

The relatives also asked why the men had been taken to the centre and locked up in the first place.

Corona said that raids to detain migrants had become more frequent in Ciudad Juárez, and that "anyone who irregularly enters Mexico can face arrest."

She shared that it did not mean that those held at the centre had been involved in any crime.