On Monday (06.27.2022), at least 50 people were found dead inside a truck, and another 16 were taken to hospitals in what is suspected to be a case of migrant abandon after crossing into the United States. The car was parked on a side road near the Texas-Mexico border, just outside of San Antonio. San Antonio, which is around 160 miles (250 kilometers) from the Mexican border, reached a high of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) on Monday due to excessive humidity. What is the reason or what is the cause of death of 47 people who were smuggled from the Mexico border to San Antonio?
Who were the 50 Victims smuggled from Mexico?
Three people are in custody after 50 bodies were found in a lorry trailer on the outskirts of San Antonio. The authorities have not confirmed the nationality or nationalities of the victims, but they have confirmed that they are migrants and have linked the tragedy to human trafficking. Three people have been arrested and forwarded for further investigation. Human trafficking networks operating on the border are suspected in Texas migrant deaths.
The Honduran foreign ministry said it is investigating whether any of the victims were from Honduras. Alex Selgado of Fuerza Catracha, a Honduran immigrant rights organization, told The San Antonio Express-News at the scene that “officials did inform us that some of the deceased may be Honduran because they had emblems or insignia of our country” on their clothing.
Officials with the Guatemalan consulate in McAllen said they are visiting a hospital to see if two of the children who survived are from Guatemala.
What were the conditions of 16 injured before they were taken to the hospital?
The 16 injured were taken to city hospitals between 6:07 and 6:57 pm, Hood added. So far, it is known that three of the migrants were in stable condition at the Methodist Hospital; another five in critical condition at Baptist Medical Center, and another two in unknown condition at University Hospital.
As soon as this tragedy was known, the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, shared a message on his Twitter account: “Tragedy in Texas. Suffocated in the box of the trailer reportedly. Consul en route to the point. Condolences to the victims and their families. We still don’t know nationalities.”
Of the 16 survivors, 12 were adults, and 4 were children, according to officials.
Where were the 50 dead bodies truck discovered?
The truck was found next to railroad tracks in a remote area on the city’s southern outskirts. Local police chief William McManus explained that the discovery occurred in the 9600 block of Quintana Road, near New Laredo Highway. An employee who works near the area would have called 9-1-1 at around 5:50 pm to report that, after hearing someone call for help, he found a truck with the trailer doors half open and several dead people inside.
#BORDERNEWS IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: At least 46 people are dead after being found inside a locked tractor trailer in San Antonio while trying to be smuggled into the country. 16 others were sent to the hospital- four of them are kids. Here’s the latest: https://t.co/ifEbpmLMv1 pic.twitter.com/qtBv74KUg3
— Sydney Hernández (@SydneyHdzTV) June 28, 2022
Is suffocation the victims’ cause of death ?
The victims’ cause of death is Asphyxiation. Temperatures in San Antonio roughly 160 miles (250 kilometers) from the Mexican border, reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) on Monday, with excessive humidity. The survivors were dehydrated and suffocated. On Twitter, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard called the suffocation of the migrants in the truck a “tragedy in Texas,” and said the local consulate was en route to the scene, though the nationalities of the victims had not been confirmed.
“The patients that we saw were hot to the touch, they were suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion,” San Antonio fire chief Charles Hood told a news conference. “It was a refrigerated tractor-trailer but there was no visible working A/C unit on that rig.”
This is an absolute tragedy. 47 are now dead after driving through the Laredo checkpoint.
— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) June 28, 2022
We must bring an end to these senseless deaths and hold those responsible accountable.
Let us pray for the families of the deceased. May they Rest In Peace. https://t.co/HpVhmqruw0
Human trafficking Suspects
Human trafficking networks are suspected to be operating near the border. Three persons were detained, but it was unclear whether they were directly involved in human trafficking, according to McManus. According to McManus, those in the trailer were part of a suspected migrant smuggling effort into the United States, and the inquiry was being directed by US Homeland Security Investigations.
According to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the material had not been authorized for public publication, those in the trailer were allegedly involved in a migrant smuggling effort in South Texas.
ICE @HSI_HQ has initiated an investigation with the support of @SATXPolice and @CBP. Human smugglers are callous individuals who have no regard for the vulnerable people they exploit and endanger in order to make a profit.
— Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (@SecMayorkas) June 28, 2022
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who advocates a tough line on immigration, hit out at President Joe Biden over the disaster — blaming his “deadly open border policies.”
“These deaths are on Biden,” Abbott tweeted. “They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”
It was not for Human trafficking, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg
“It’s tragic,” Nirenberg said from an on-scene press conference. “They had families… and were likely trying to find a better life. It’s nothing short of a horrific human tragedy.”
“We hope that those responsible for putting these people through such inhumane conditions are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Nirenberg said.
San Antonio was the epicenter of a similar tragedy in 2017 and 2003
The incident brought back memories of the 2003 death of 19 undocumented immigrants who were confined inside a trailer that reached 173 degrees Fahrenheit (78 degrees Celsius) while driving through southeast Texas. Human smugglers placed dozens of migrants onto the trailer of a suspect identified as Tyrone M. Williams’ 18-wheeler. He agreed to escort them 120 miles north via a Border Patrol checkpoint for a cost of $7,500.
Ten migrants died in July 2017 after being transported in a tractor-trailer discovered by San Antonio police in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The driver, James Matthew Bradley, Jr., was sentenced to life in prison the following year for his role in the smuggling operation.
