“To the people who know us, we’re a very united family. We’ve always been very close,” a family member of the deceased said
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Several members of a family are dead after their van crashed in a ravine.
Nuevo León’s Civil Defense said in a Facebook post that the incident occurred on Sunday, March 23, when a van went off Highway 14 in Nuevo León, Mexico, and fell down a ravine. The car caught fire, which led to a forest fire in the area, officials added.
According to KGNS-TV, the Dallas News and the newspaper El Mañana de Nuevo Laredo, 12 members of the Martínez Quintanilla family — who had ties to Laredo, Texas — had been in the vehicle when it crashed. Authorities told the outlets that 16 people total had been riding in the van.
The Nuevo León Attorney General’s Office later identified the remains of 10-year-old José Gael Martínez Puntos and 15-year-old Melanie Martínez Hernández, according to a translated post in the Dallas News. The remains of 64-year-old José Guadalupe Martínez Agustince were also identified, according to the outlet.
Children Eduardo and Emiliano Quintanilla, plus their relative, Josué Martínez, were identified as other victims of the crash, per KGNS-TV.
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KGNS-TV and the Dallas News reported the cause of the crash may have been due to a brake problem with the vehicle.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash, officials said.
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After the crash, commuters were warned by officials to avoid the area as they worked to put out the fire.
In an update on Facebook, the Nuevo León Civil Defense shared videos of a helicopter working to put out the flames. Officials said in a translated post that they “carried out long-line work to extract the bodies of those killed.”
Officials also shared photos of firefighters working to extinguish the flames in the wooded areas near the van.
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A funeral for members of the Martínez Quintanilla family was held on Friday, March 30, according to El Mañana de Nuevo Laredo. Two family members who survived the crash and had been recovering from their injuries attended the funeral, the outlet reported.
