At least 15 people were killed on Tuesday in a collision between an SUV and a tractor trailer truck in Southern California, about 10 miles (16.1 km) north of the Mexican border, the New York Times reported, citing local officials.

The crash, on State Route 115 near El Centro, California, involved a sport utility vehicle carrying 27 people and a truck hauling gravel, local officials told the newspaper.

An Imperial County Fire Department official told the Los Angeles Times that the agency responded to a mass fatality incident at 6:16 a.m. local time.

Some 14 people died at the scene while another person died at the El Centro Regional Medical Center, the hospital's chief executive, Adolphe Edward, told the New York Times. "This is a major accident with major trauma,” Edward said to the newspaper, adding he believed the victims were undocumented migrants.

The truck driver suffered minor injuries, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol told the Times.

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