39 dead in Mexico migrant facility fire

At least 39 people are dead after a fire broke out before dawn Tuesday at a Mexican immigration detention facility along the US border.

The fire broke out at the centre run by the National Migration Institute in Ciudad Juarez, just across from El Paso, Texas. Photos from the scene showed the parking lot of the facility lined with several bodies covered with blankets.

Officials at the institute say 29 people were injured in the blaze. At least 68 men from Central and South America were being housed at the facility at Ciudad Juarez, which is a major crossing area for migrants or asylum seekers wishing to enter the United States. The cause of the fire is under investigation.