At least 26 people have been killed after a lorry smashed into a minibus before bursting into flames.
Several children and a baby are reported to have been onboard when the horrific crash happened on a highway in northeastern Mexico on Sunday morning.
A tractor trailer ploughed head-on into the van on a highway in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas before both vehicles caught fire.
Harrowing images shared by authorities show the passenger van completely obliterated by the fire.
The lorry was also severely damaged in the collision on a road between the towns of Guemez and Zaragoza.
According to local media reports, the victims may have all been members of one family who had rented the van to drive to the northern city of Monterrey in Veracruz.
Tamaulipas’s public security ministry said once authorities arrived at the site, they found the truck carrying the trailer was no longer at the scene.
A source at the Tamaulipas prosecutors’ office said investigators were unsure whether the driver of the truck had fled or if he was also killed in the crash.
Passengers travelling in the van, believed to be from a private transportation business, included children, the source said.
The victims are all thought to be Mexicans as national IDs have been recovered from the scene.
Tamaulipas state governor Americo Villarreal Anaya said Sunday: ‘I deeply regret the tragedy recorded this morning on the Guemez-Zaragoza highway, where innocent people lost their lives.
‘My condolences to their families.
‘I have given instructions to investigate the cause of this accident and also to provide all possible help to the bereaved families.’
