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MEXICO CITY (AP) - Officials have determined that the theft of some parts from a southern Mexico train track caused a derailment that killed 11 Central American migrants.
The Communications and Transportation Department said Friday that the theft of a metal bar used to join rails and its screws were the "decisive cause" behind the accident Sunday in a remote region of Tabasco state. The rail company's technicians carried out the investigation.
The rails were not aligned, causing eight of 12 train cars to leave the tracks and flip over. Authorities initially said six Honduran migrants died, but rescue crews found five more victims this week while removing the wrecked railcars.
Thousands of migrants brave brutal conditions each year as they travel atop train cars on their way to the United States.
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