Mexico finds 45 migrants in hidden compartment of truck

Mexican authorities found 45 migrants in a hidden compartment of a truck on Monday -- the latest incident involving one of the most dangerous transportation methods used by people smugglers.

National Guard agents made the discovery in the eastern state of Veracruz after hearing voices coming from inside the vehicle, which was carrying scrap metal, the National Migration Institute said.

The unventilated compartment was accessible by a passageway only big enough to crawl through, it said.

The migrants, from countries including Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Cuba, were detained while their legal situation is reviewed, the immigration agency said.

Around 6,430 migrants have died or disappeared en route to the United States since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Of those, 850 were the result of vehicle accidents or linked to hazardous transport, the United Nations agency says.

In June, more than 50 migrants died after they were abandoned in a scorching hot tractor-trailer truck in San Antonio, Texas.

And last week, nearly 100 migrants traveling in a truck were found abandoned by the driver in Veracruz.