23 Jul 2023

11 dead after man kicked out of Mexico bar allegedly burned it down

8:03 pm on 23 July 2023
Picture released by La Tremenda Cosa showing a view of a bar that was intentionally burned and left eleven people dead in the town of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora state, Mexico on July 22, 2023. Eleven people died and another four were injured during the early hours of this Saturday in an intentional fire in a bar in northern Mexico, authorities reported. (Photo by Alberto De la Hoya / La Tremenda Cosa / AFP)

Picture released by La Tremenda Cosa showing a view of a bar that was intentionally burned and left eleven people dead in the town of San Luis Rio Colorado. Photo: ALBERTO DE LA HOYA /AFP

A man has been arrested in Mexico on suspicion of setting fire to a bar after he was kicked out, killing 11 people, officials say.

The attack happened on Friday night in San Luis Rio Colorado, which borders the United States. The bar sits just one street away from the border.

Authorities say a drunk young man threw a Molotov cocktail at the Beer House bar after being thrown out.

He had reportedly been harassing women before being ejected.

The mayor of San Luis Rio Colorado tweeted on Saturday afternoon that a suspect had been arrested. He has not yet been named.

The fire killed seven men and four women and left four other people hospitalised, according to a statement from the Sonora state Attorney General's Office. A number of those injured were rushed across the border to hospitals in the United States for treatment.

"According to versions (from) several witnesses, the person with a young, male appearance was disrespecting women in that bar and was expelled," the statement said.

It described the object thrown "a kind of 'Molotov' cocktail".

Investigations continue to "clarify the facts" and "bring justice" it said, adding that "in Sonora, no one is above the law".

It is unclear if the incident is related to organised crime, which has plagued Mexico for years.

- This story was first published by BBC