Authorities nab suspect in deadly bar fire in Mexico border city that claimed 11 lives

In Mexico, authorities have arrested a man who has allegedly set a bar on fire after being kicked out. Around 11 people died in the incident that took place near the Arizona border in the Mexican state of Sonora. According to a statement from the Sonora Attorney General’s Office, the fire broke out at 1:33 a.m. Saturday at a bar in San Luis Rio Colorado, near the United States border city of San Luis, Arizona. 

Taking to Twitter, Santos González Yescas, mayor of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, wrote, " I join in the grief and deep pain that family and friends of the 11 victims of the fire that occurred in the early hours of this Saturday in a club on Sixth Street and International Alley are going through. We will be aware of the development of the investigations."

Further, he wrote, " I would like to inform you that the person allegedly responsible for the fire at the Beer House club was arrested at this time by the Municipal Police. In a few moments more information. #SLRC" 

Me uno a la pena y al profundo dolor por el que están pasando familiares y amigos de las 11 víctimas del incendio ocurrido en las primeras horas de este sábado en un antro de la calle Sexta y callejón Internacional.
Estaremos al pendiente del desarrollo de las investigaciones . pic.twitter.com/OqVfwYKsvs

— Santos González Yescas (@SantosGonzalezY) July 22, 2023

Les informo que en estos momentos fue detenido por Policías Municipales el presunto responsable del incendio al antro Beer House. En unos momentos más información.#SLRC

— Santos González Yescas (@SantosGonzalezY) July 22, 2023

Fire at the bar in Mexico

While addressing the press conference on the incident,  Sonora’s attorney general, Gustavo Rómulo Salas Chávez said, "A 17-year-old and a female American citizen were among those killed." Further, he added that Mexican authorities have been trying to confirm if the woman who died also had Mexican citizenship.  

The suspected man, who started the fire, had “a high degree of intoxication,” and threw an object with fire at the bar, said the authorities, reported CNN. According to Chávez, at least six people have been injured. One person remains hospitalised, two were discharged and the other three have been shifted to US hospitals for treatment, he added.