Several dead after van crashes in US state of Texas

At least 11 killed and more than a dozen injured after van, designed to hold 15 passengers, crashes on a remote South Texas highway, officials say.

Brooks County Sheriff Urbino Martinez says van tipped over when the driver lost control on a curve.

Brooks County Sheriff Urbino Martinez says van tipped over when the driver lost control on a curve.

An overloaded van carrying about 25 passengers has crashed on a remote South Texas highway, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than a dozen others, authorities said.

The crash happened shortly after 4 pm [local time] on Wednesday on US 281 in Encino, Texas, about 50 miles north of McAllen. 

Brooks County Sheriff Urbino Martinez said the van, designed to hold 15 passengers, was top-heavy and tipped over when the driver lost control on a curve.

Police said the driver was going too fast and took a curve too fast causing the crash. 

Van was carrying migrants?

Martinez said he believed most of the passengers were migrants. 

Sergeant Nathan Brandley of the Texas Department of Public Safety put the immediate death toll at 11 with more than a dozen others injured.

Encino is a community of about 140 residents about 3.22 km south of the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint.

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