Forty-six migrants were found dead in the back of a tractor trailer in San Antonio on Monday, law enforcement officials said. Another sixteen – 12 adults and four children – were taken to local hospitals with heat-related injuries.
Police Chief William McManus told a news conference that authorities received a call around 5:50 p.m. local time from a worker who heard cries for help and found the trailer with the doors partially open. The worker found several dead bodies inside the trailer, McManus said.
McManus said three people were in custody, although he noted that authorities were not sure they were involved. The incident is currently under federal investigation.
San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said the 16 people taken to the hospital were conscious when they were found, even though they were “weak” and could not leave the trailer alone. He said they were all “hot to the touch” and suffered from heat-related injuries, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
He said there were no signs of water or a working air conditioner in the truck, and authorities said it was unclear how long the group had been in the truck before they were found.
The victims were a mixture of men and women and of different ages, but none of the dead appeared to be minors, officials said.
Hood said first aid workers are now being questioned to help them process what they have witnessed.
“You don’t have to open a truck and see piles of bodies there,” he said. “None of us come to work imagining this.”
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg called the situation a “horrific human tragedy.”
Asylum-seeking migrants must always be treated as a humanitarian crisis, but tonight we are facing a horrific human tragedy.
More than 40 hopeful lives have been lost. I urge you to think compassionately, to pray for the dead, the sick and their families at this time.
– Mayor Ron Nirenberg (@Ron_Nirenberg) June 28, 2022
Homeland Security investigations are leading the investigation into the alleged human trafficking incident and will work with the San Antonio Police Department, law enforcement officials told CBS News.
DHS said in a statement that it was “horrified by this tragic loss of life near San Antonio. It speaks to the despair of migrants who would put their lives in the hands of insensitive smugglers of people who have nothing to do with human life.”
An ICE spokesman said in a statement that internal security investigations responded to the scene after receiving a call from the police department. The spokesman said more details would be released as the investigation continues.
More than 20 emergency vehicles responded to the scene, CBS affiliate KENS-TV said.
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