20000213

324 Mexicans died

trying to enter

US in 1999

MEXICO CITY: A total of 324 Mexicans died trying to enter the United States illegally last year, according to official figures released here on Friday.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement, the figure was lower than in 1998, when 377 people died crossing Mexico's northern border.

It said that as a result of toughening of US measures to halt illegal immigration, people trying to enter the United States illegally chose "inhospitable and dangerous areas such as rivers, mountains and deserts, contributing to the high death toll".

The statement said that among those who died trying to cross the border last year, 150 people had drowned and 131 had died of dehydration.ÑAFP