At least 15 migrants are dead and 36 others injured after a bus crash in central Mexico, local authorities said.

The migrants, mostly from Venezuela, were traveling in the state of Puebla when the crash took place early on Tuesday morning.

Local authorities believe the bus struck a trailer while on a highway.

Migrants are often transported by bus from Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala as they head north to the US.

Puebla’s state government confirmed the crash on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Images shared on X by Mexico’s National Guard show officers near two severely damaged vehicles at a steep curve on the highway in a hilly and mountainous area.

According to Mexican media outlets, the highway is frequently used by human smugglers.

Salomón Jara, the governor of the nearby state of Oaxaca – from where the migrants were believed to be traveling – said he had instructed authorities to provide support to the injured.

“We’re sending a hug and our condolences to the families of those who perished, to whom we will also offer all our support,” Mr Jara said.

The injured, which include both men and women, were transported to three hospitals in the city of Tehuacán.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Central America try to cross through Mexico each year in a bid to reach the US.

Many of them pay smugglers, who illegally transport them in crowded and dangerous trucks on the long journey, and road accidents are common.

In July, for example, at least 29 people were killed when a bus fell into a ravine in Oaxaca.

In a separate incident in February, 17 migrants from Colombia and Venezuela were killed in an accident in Puebla.

In 2021, 56 migrants were killed when an overloaded vehicle carrying 160 people overturned on a highway in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez in the southern state of Chiapas. The victims were primarily from Guatemala.