(CNN) At least 39 people were killed in a fire at an immigration center in Mexico’s northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, officials said Tuesday.
The fire broke out at the office of the National Institute of Migration (INM) after about 71 migrants were picked up from the city’s streets, officials said.
Mexico’s National Migration Agency has not released the cause of the fire or the nationalities of the victims, who have opened an investigation into the fire.
“It is with deep sadness and regret that we learned of the fire at the INM in Ciudad Juarez,” Andrea Chavez, federal deputy of Ciudad Juarez, tweeted on Tuesday.
We will wait for official information and from this moment forward, we send our condolences to the families of the migrants. The FGR opened an investigation,” Chavez said.
A witness told Reuters that body bags were lined up near the scene of the fire, which was extinguished. Most of the immigrants at the center are Venezuelans, witnesses was added.
The fires have been among the worst in recent years in Mexico, which is seeing record levels along its border with the United States.
CNN has reached out to Mexico’s immigration officials for comment on fire.
