'Horrific' tragedy in Texas, 46 bodies found in San Antonio trailer

A US official said 16 others, who were in the truck, were taken to hospitals in San Antonio. Authorities said the 16 individuals included 12 adults and four children. They are being treated for heat-related illnesses.

Team Newsable

San Antonio, First Published Jun 28, 2022, 10:07 AM IST | Last Updated Jun 28, 2022, 10:07 AM IST

At least 46 bodies, suspected to be of migrants, were recovered from a trailer near San Antonio, Texas. This is the highest number of fatalities ever in a suspected migrant smuggling operation in the United States.

San Antonio is a major transit route for migrant smuggling. It is 250km from the US-Mexican border. A US official said 16 others, who were in the truck, were taken to hospitals in San Antonio. Authorities said the 16 individuals included 12 adults and four children. They are being treated for heat-related illnesses.

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Police Chief William McManus said authorities were alerted by a city worker who heard a cry for help from a remote back road in southwest San Antonio. Officers arrived to find a body on the ground next to the trailer which had a partially-opened gate.

Even though the tractor-trailer was refrigerated, there were no signs that the AC unit was operating.

US Homeland Security Investigations is leading the probe into the incident which was described as nothing short of a horrific human tragedy by San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

Mayor Nirenberg said there are 46 individuals -- no longer with us -- who were likely trying to find a better life.

Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that the nationalities of the victims are being ascertained. Two of the deceased were from Guatemala.

The last time such an incident happened was in 2017, 10 immigrants were found dead inside a tractor-trailer outside a Walmart in San Antonio.

Texas's Republican Governor Greg Abbott held US President Joe Biden responsible for the deaths, stating that this was a 'result of his deadly open border policies'.

San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus said that 60 firefighters, who were on the scene, were being put through a critical incident stress debriefing. He said, "You are not supposed to open up a truck and see stacks of bodies in there. None of us come to work imagining that."

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