‘STACKS of bodies’ discovered inside Texas tractor trailer as 46 migrants are confirmed dead ‘due to heat stroke’ and survivors are described as ‘hot to the touch’: Tragedy is one of America’s deadliest human trafficking incidents in decades
- At least 46 people have been found dead inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas on Monday
- 16 others in the truck were taken to hospitals in the local area
- Three people were taken into custody, though police could said they could not confirm if they were ‘absolutely connected to this or not.’
- It may be the deadliest tragedy among thousands who have died attempting to cross the U.S. border from Mexico in recent decades
- Heat poses a serious danger, particularly when temperatures can rise severely inside vehicles
- Weather in the San Antonio area was mostly cloudy Monday, but temperatures approached 100 degrees
At least 46 people were found dead inside a tractor-trailer in a presumed migrant smuggling attempt in South Texas on Monday.
Another 16 in the truck were taken to hospitals in San Antonio, police Chief William McManus confirmed.
He also said that three individuals were in custody, but that it was not known if they were ‘absolutely connected to this or not.’
The victims’ causes of death have not yet been confirmed, though extreme heat was the suggested cause. Officials said that the survivors had suffered from dehydration and heat stroke.
‘The patients that we saw were hot to the touch. They were suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion,’ fire chief Charles Hood said in a press briefing, ‘No signs of water in the vehicle. It was a refrigerated trailer, but there was no visible working AC unit on that rig.’
Texas has been experiencing a near record level heat wave, and temperatures in San Antonio reached at least 103 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday.
Of the 16 survivors, 12 were adults, and 4 were children, according to officials.
Body bags lie at the scene where a tractor trailer with multiple dead bodies was discovered, Monday, June 27, 2022, in San Antonio
San Antonio Police chief McManus said he could not confirm if all the victims had been found, and that canine units would be deployed in the morning to continue searching
Onlookers stand near the scene where the semitrailer was found on Monday in South Texas
The truck was found abandoned by auto salvage yards and railroad tracks around 6:00pm by an individual who worked nearby.
Chief McManus said the individual ‘heard a cry for help and came out to investigate.’ He said that the individual found the trailer’s doors partially opened when upon arrival.
McManus said he could not confirm if all the victims had been found.
‘We had our canines out there going through the woods and we may have to do that again tomorrow in the light of day,’ he said.
‘The plight of migrants seeking refuge is always a humanitarian crisis,’ said San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg, ‘But tonight we are dealing with a horrific human tragedy.’
Hood described firefighters opening the truck and seeing ‘stacks of bodies’ inside.
The truck was found abandoned by railroad tracks and salvage yards by an individual who worked nearby.
An ambulance leaves the scene where police said dozens of people were found dead in a semitrailer in a remote area in southwestern San Antonio
Locals said that the location where the truck was found was a known drop-off point for migrants, according to The New York Times.
‘You can tell they just get here. We see them with backpacks or asking for food or money,’ Ruby Chavez, 53, told The New York Times.
They know this area. They jump off the train and get picked up,’ Chavez’s husband said.
It may be the deadliest tragedy among thousands who have died attempting to cross the U.S. border from Mexico in recent decades.
Ten migrants died in 2017 after being trapped inside a truck that was parked at a Walmart in San Antonio. In 2003, 19 migrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio.
Big rigs emerged as a popular smuggling method in the early 1990s amid a surge in U.S. border enforcement in San Diego and El Paso, Texas, which were then the busiest corridors for illegal crossings.
Prior to that, people paid small fees to mom-and-pop operators to get them across a largely unguarded border.
As crossing became exponentially more difficult after the 2001 terror attacks in the U.S., migrants were led through more dangerous terrain and paid thousands of dollars more.
Heat poses a serious danger, particularly when temperatures can rise severely inside vehicles.
Police block the scene. It may be the deadliest tragedy among thousands who have died attempting to cross the U.S. border from Mexico in recent decades
Police block the scene where a semitrailer with multiple dead bodies were discovered
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