Death toll rises in Mexico truck tragedy

(Vatican Radio)  The death toll in Thursday's truck tragedy in Mexico, in which the out-of-control vehicle ploughed into a procession of pilgrims, has risen to 27, with 149 injured. 

Listen to James Blears' report:

The Governor of the Northern Mexican State of Zacatecas, Miguel Alonso Reyes, is pledging to help those injured and the families of those who died.

Mexico's Secretary of Health, Mercedes Juan Lopez, who's also visited the injured in the hospital, has repeated this, as the State and Federal Governments combine to cope with a tragedy of horrifying proportions.

Mexico's President, Enrique Peña Nieto, has also come to the area, visited hospitals, and is offering condolences as well as help.

The accident couldn't have happened at a worse time. The town of Mazapil was celebrating its San Jesús of Nazarath Day, and the streets were packed with pilgrims, slowly making their way to the church San Gregorio Magno.

Investigators say the brakes of a truck, which was loaded with building materials failed, and it careered into throngs of poeple.  It ended up on its side by a building. Police are searching for the driver, who fled the scene.