Eleven killed in Guatemala road accident

Eleven people, including nine migrants, were killed Saturday in a collision between a van, a motorcycle and a truck on a road in western Guatemala, authorities said.

The accident occurred around dawn on a highway in Suchitepequez department, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the capital Guatemala City.

"What is understood at this point, is that a farmer's truck slammed into a van (with the migrants in it) and a motorcycle," Guatemala's Migration office said in a statement.

It said the migrants were crossing Guatemala "on their way to the United States."

The driver of the pickup truck and motorcycle, both Guatemalans, also died, it said.

Nine people died at the scene of the accident and the other two died after being transferred to the hospital in the city of Mazatenango, officials said.

Central America is a busy transit route for thousands of migrants from South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia seeking a better life in the United States.