Authorities said 46 migrants were found dead while 16 others were hospitalized after a tractor-trailer truck was found Monday on a remote back road in southwest San Antonio, Texas. The incident was a presumed smuggling attempt.
Shortly before 6 p.m. on Monday, a city worker was alerted by a cry for help. According to Police Chief William McManus, authorities arrived to find a body on the ground outside a trailer and a partially opened truck door.
16 were hospitalized with heat-related illnesses, of which 12 were adults, and 4 were children, Fire Chief Charles Hood said. The patients were hot to the touch and dehydrated. No water was found in the trailer.
3 people were taken in for investigation, but it was unclear if they were connected with human trafficking.
Those in the trailer were part of an allegedly migrant smuggling attempt in South Texas into the United StatU.S. Homeland Security Investigations is leading the investigation.
The incident might be the deadliest tragedy among thousands who have died trying to cross the U.S. border from Mexico. In 2017, 10 migrants died after being trapped inside a truck parked at a Walmart in San Antonio.
