No less than 46 people have been found dead inside an abandoned tractor-trailer on Monday in San Antonio, Texas.
Gatekeepers News reports that this appears to be one of the most deadly recent incidents of human smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico border.
A San Antonio Fire Department official stated that they found ‘stacks of bodies’ and no signs of water in the truck, which was discovered next to railroad tracks in the city’s southern outskirts, close to Interstate 35 which runs to the Mexican border.
However, sixteen survivors, including four children have been rushed to nearby hospitals for heat stroke and exhaustion. They were found by a local worker, who investigated the scene after hearing a faint cry for help emanating from the truck.
Officials noted that no children were among the dead.
Texas has been experiencing a near-record heat wave, while temperatures in San Antonio, which is about 160 miles from the Mexican border, swelled to a high of 103F on Monday with high humidity.
In a press briefing, fire chief Charles Hood said, “The patients that we saw were hot to the touch. They were suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion,’
“[There were] no signs of water in the vehicle. It was a refrigerated trailer, but there was no visible working AC unit on that rig.”
Police Chief William McManus noted that although three individuals have been taken into custody, it had not been established whether they were ‘absolutely connected to this or not.’
The nationalities of the victims have not yet been confirmed, but they are all believed to be immigrants attempting to cross illegally into the U.S.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard dispatched Consul General Ruben Minutti to the scene on Monday evening, while the Mexican consulate in San Antonio said it would provide ‘all the support’ to the families of Mexican citizens if they are among the dead.
A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that its Homeland Security Investigations division was investigating ‘an alleged human smuggling event’ in coordination with local police.
The truck was found abandoned by auto salvage yards and railroad tracks around 6:00pm yesterday by an individual who worked nearby.
Chief McManus said the local worker “heard a cry for help and came out to investigate,” before finding the trailer’s doors partially opened upon arrival and discovering dozens of bodies.
McManus said he could not confirm whether all the victims had remained in the trailer and said searches to find any survivors that may have escaped were ongoing.
He said, “We had our canines out there going through the woods and we may have to do that again tomorrow in the light of day.”
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the 46 who died had “families who were likely trying to find a better life.”
Nirenberg said, “The plight of migrants seeking refuge is always a humanitarian crisis.
“But tonight we are dealing with a horrific human tragedy.”
There have been several cases in recent years of migrants dying in very similar circumstances, often of suffocation after being trapped in enclosed spaces.
See some of the deadliest human trafficking cases in recent memory in which the victims were found dead from suffocation:
- June 27, 2022: 46 suspected immigrants were found dead in a sweltering trailer on a remote back road in southwestern San Antonio.
- October 23, 2019: 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a truck trailer in Essex, England. Four men were jailed for manslaughter.
- July 23, 2017: Eight immigrants were found dead in a sweltering trailer at a San Antonio Walmart parking lot. Two others died later in hospitals. The driver was sentenced to life in prison.
- Feb. 20, 2017: 13 African migrants suffocated inside a shipping container while being transported between two towns in Libya. A total of 69 migrants, most from Mali, were packed into the container, according to the local Red Crescent branch.
- Aug. 27, 2015: Austrian police discovered an abandoned truck containing the bodies of 71 migrants, including eight children, from Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. The truck, found along a highway, had crossed into Austria from Hungary.
- April 4, 2009: 35 Afghan migrants suffocated inside a shipping container in southwestern Pakistan. Authorities said that more than 100 people were packed inside the container.
- April 9, 2008: 54 Burmese migrants suffocated in the back of an airtight refrigerated truck in Ranong, Thailand.
- May 14, 2003: 19 migrants died inside a sweltering tractor-trailer while they traveled from South Texas to Houston.
- June 18, 2000: 58 Chinese immigrants were found dead inside a truck in the English port town of Dover. The Dutch truck had transported the immigrants across the English Channel from Belgium. Two people survived.
