Tragedy has struck in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, as authorities discovered an overturned pickup truck in a canal in the municipality of Pesqueria, just 69 kilometers northeast of the state capital, Monterrey. Inside and around the area, they found 14 dead bodies already decomposing.

The dead bodies belonged to ten men, who were all reportedly in their 30s, as well as three women and a teenager who was approximately 15 years old. Six of them were found inside the vehicle, while eight were found floating in the irrigation canal that the pickup truck crashed into.

The incident reportedly happened on Monday, but the wreck was only discovered just recently, which meant the bodies were already starting to decompose, according to Mazatlan Weekly.

Rescuers began their recovery efforts on Tuesday, and work lasted for around 12 hours. The dead bodies have now been transferred into the custody of the Forensic Medical Service for their identification and the legal autopsy to determine their cause of death.

Nuevo Leon Pickup was Transporting Guatemalan Migrants

Elements of Civil Protection and Municipal Transit of Pesqueria received a 911 call about the overturned truck in the canal. There, rescue workers found some of the bodies inside the vehicle, while the others were already floating in the water.

According to the Associated Press, five of the dead bodies found in the wreckage were carrying Guatemalan identification cards and passports. This suggested that some of the pickup truck's passengers were migrants and may have been headed to the U.S.-Mexico border.

READ MORE: Migrant Children Reunite With Parents After Being Separated by Donald Trump Policy

It is noted that Nuevo Leon is one of the states that migrants from Central and South America usually pass to get to the border, the nearest U.S. state being Texas.

Migrant smugglers, more commonly known as Coyotes, often pack their vehicles with their migrant passengers to the point that it gets dangerous. Vehicle crashes involving these migrant smugglers are not uncommon in Mexico, and this may crash may have been one of them.

Pickup Truck Containing Guatemalan Migrants May Just Have Been Caught in a Road Accident

Noroeste Nacional first broke the story and reported that this may just have been a simple accident, with the driver reportedly not being familiar with the area and thus leading to a deadly mistake that sent their vehicle into a canal and killing 14 of those onboard.

The pickup truck was identified as a Chevrolet Silverado 2013 model and had Nuevo Leon license plates. It was recovered after the search operation, which also used an underwater drone to help look for other bodies that might have been part of the crash.

While the Biden administration has tightened restrictions on immigrants from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela, greatly reducing the numbers of migrants from those countries, the same cannot be said for migrants from other Central American countries like Guatemala, as many of its citizens still travel through Mexico in the hope of getting into the United States.

READ MORE: Joe Biden Toughens Stance on Immigration

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Crisis in Guatemala drives migrants to U.S. border - CBS Evening News