<![CDATA[At least 46 dead migrants were found in a truck in Texas as temps reach 103 degrees, 16 survivors found]]> https://usagag.com/2022/06/28/at-least-46-dead-migrants-were-found-in-a-truck-in-texas-as-temps-reach-103-degrees-16-survivors-found/ Tue, 28 Jun 2022 06:47:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://usagag.com At least 46 dead migrants were found in a truck in Texas as temps reach 103 degrees, 16 survivors found The victims were found in the 18-wheeler on Quintana Road in San Antonio, Texas, just before 6 p.m., said San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.

Officials said that 16 survivors, including four children, were rushed to hospitals in the area because they were suffering from heatstroke and dehydration.

Police say that a nearby worker heard a call for help and went to investigate. He found the trailer with its doors partly open and bodies inside.

One body was outside the truck, and there were dozens more inside.

“We’re not supposed to be able to open a truck and see stacks of bodies in there,” San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said.

Onlookers stand near the scene where a semitrailer with multiple dead bodies was discovered
Onlookers stand near the scene where the bodies were found.
AP/Eric Gay

He also said that there was no water inside and that the air conditioning and refrigeration did not work.

Monday, it was 103 degrees in San Antonio, which is still in the middle of a heat wave.

Three people were arrested because of what happened, but it wasn't clear what their role was.

The Department of Homeland Security is now in charge of the investigation.

Police block the scene
Police block the scene where a semitrailer with multiple dead bodies were discovered on Jun. 27, 2022, in San Antonio.
AP/Eric Gay

‘Mass casualty’ scene

Local journalists said they saw yellow tarps near the back of the open truck, as well as a large "mass casualty — evacuation" ambulance speeding by and dozens of officers from the San Antonio Police Department, Homeland Security, and the Border Patrol at the scene.

The truck was left in the middle of nowhere near some railroad tracks.

KSAT, a news station in San Antonio, said that police and first responders were walking along the train tracks with thermal imaging cameras to look for any possible survivors who may have gotten away.

An ambulance leaves the scene of the gruesome incident.
An ambulance leaves the scene of the gruesome incident.
AP/Eric Gay

The New York Times says that all of the people who died were thought to be illegal immigrants who had crossed into the US.

"The situation of refugees and migrants is always a humanitarian crisis, but tonight we are dealing with a terrible human tragedy," said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

Officers are looking into how 46 people died, but heat is thought to have played a big role.

Medics arrive to the scene.
Sixteen others were taken to area hospitals in varying conditions.
KSAT

At first, it was said that 20 people had died. With this new number, the tragedy is now one of the most deadly cases of people trafficking in the US in recent years.

“We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled,” a spokesperson for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement to the Post.

Police investigate the truck.
It is believed the deceased are undocumented migrants.
KSAT

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