Mexico migrants: Deadly fire at Juárez migrant centre

A deadly fire has spread through a migrant processing centre in Ciudad Juárez on the US-Mexico border.

About 70 people are believed to have been inside the centre run by Mexico's National Migration Institute when the fire broke out.

Local media say at least three dozen people have died in the blaze.

There has been no official statement on the incident yet but news agency Efe said its reporter had seen body bags lined up outside the facility.

Local media say that the building where the fire broke out was holding migrants who had been picked up by the authorities on Monday.

The facility is located near the Stanton-Lerdo Bridge, which links Mexico and the US.

There has been no official statement about what may have caused the blaze but local newspapers reported that there had been a disturbance inside the centre just before the fire.

Photographs released by Reuters show a number of bodies covered in foil blankets lying outside the building.

Many of the victims are thought to be Venezuelans trying to make their way to the United States.

Ciudad Juárez, the Mexican city located just across the Rio Grande river from El Paso, Texas, has seen an influx of people in recent weeks.

Many migrants have been heading to the southern border of the United States in expectation of an end to Title 42, a policy which gives the US government the power to quickly expel migrants trying to cross its border.

Title 42, which allows US border officials to deny individuals entry to the US "to prevent the spread of communicable disease" was was first implemented at the start of the Covid pandemic.

The Biden Administration has announced its intention to end the use of the Trump-era policy but for now it remains in place.

Since the announcement, the number of migrants in Ciudad Juárez awaiting the possible lifting of the restrictions has swelled.