By MARCOS ALEMÁN, The Associated Press

TEPETITAN, El Salvador (AP) — Parents, siblings, aunts, nephews and other relatives of a Salvadoran family of eight who died in a fiery crash of a semitrailer and a van in Georgia this week struggled to wrap their minds around the tragedy on Wednesday. They hoped that the bodies of their loved ones would soon be repatriated to the Central American nation.

The family died on the way to shop at a local mall on Monday afternoon when a tractor-trailer collided with their van, according to law enforcement.

Their van burst into flames and killed 42-year-old Maribel Ramírez, and her five children, Justin, Andy, Natali, Evan and Kenia, who was three months’ pregnant. The crash also claimed the lives of Kenia’s husband, Darwin, and her 3-year-old son .

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