9 suspected illegal immigrants die in Texas wreck

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — At least nine suspected illegal immigrants were killed and six injured when the van they were packed into crashed and rolled just after a Border Patrol traffic stop in a South Texas town, officials said on Wednesday.

Most of those involved in the crash in Palmview around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday were Mexican citizens, according to Enrique Mendiola, acting assistant chief for the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley sector.

The van was demolished, but four men managed to flee the wreck, said police Cmdr. Lenny Sanchez. Two were caught and two remained at large early on Wednesday, Sanchez said.

The van, designed to carry a driver and up to seven passengers, had been gutted to squeeze in 19 people who authorities believe entered the country illegally, he said.

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