Fifty migrants have died after authorities discovered an abandoned tractor-trailer in southwest San Antonio on Monday night, in what is believed to be the deadliest human smuggling incident on U.S. soil.
Initially, 46 migrants were pronounced dead with 16 others — including four children — taken to a local hospital due to heat exhaustion and dehydration, San Antonio officials said at a news conference. The death toll rose to 50 Tuesday morning after four more were pronounced dead at local hospitals.
Here is what we know so far:
Truck “cloned”
In an apparent move to evade authorities, the truck that contained the migrants was “cloned.” Felipe Betancourt Sr. and his son, Felipe Jr., who own a South Texas trucking company, told the San Antonio Express-News that someone labeled the truck containing the migrants with the same color and identifying numbers from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Texas DOT as a truck that their company owns.
DEVELOPING: Truck with dead immigrants inside was ‘cloned,’ Texas trucking company says
How many people were in the trailer?
Nearly 100 people were packed inside the trailer of the 18-wheeler, which was found after a worker at a nearby building in southwest San Antonio heard people inside and opened the rear doors. Sixteen people — 12 adults and four children — were rushed to area hospitals, officials said. In all, there were close to 100 people in the trailer, according to reports.
A law enforcement official told the Texas Tribune Tuesday morning that it appeared people were attempting to jump out of the trailer because some of the dead were discovered along several blocks.
The tractor-trailer had a refrigeration system that did not appear to be working, the official added, saying many of the people inside the trailer had been sprinkled with steak seasoning in what might have been an attempt to cover up the smell of the migrants as they were being smuggled.
Where was the tractor-trailer found?
The discovery was made at the intersection of Cassin Drive and Quintana Road, south of Lackland Air Force Base. It is currently unclear where along the border the tractor-trailer crossed when it entered Texas.
Has the driver been found?
Authorities said three people were in custody in relation to the incident, but it was unclear if the driver had been located.
Guatemalans, Hondurans among the dead
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed the death toll rising to 50 Tuesday morning.
Twenty-two of the migrants were Mexican nationals, he said, while seven were from Guatemala and two from Honduras. The remaining nationalities of the 19 others has yet to be confirmed.
Marcelo Ebrard, foreign minister of Mexico, had initially confirmed late Monday in a tweet that two Guatemalans were among the dead.
Alex Selgado of Fuerza Catracha, a Honduran immigrants organization in the U.S., 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.
Ruben Minutti Zanatta, consul general of Mexico in San Antonio, said Tuesday that his office would be going to the various hospitals to assist families in trying to identify injured victims and the dead.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the incident was a “horrific human tragedy” and called for prayers for those affected by it.
Abbott blames Biden
Gov. Greg Abbott placed the blame of the incident on President Joe Biden and his border policies in a tweet sent out Monday night.
Deadliest migrant smuggling incident on U.S. soil
Until now, the deadliest human smuggling event on U.S. soil came on May 13, 2003, when 19 migrants died after riding in the rear compartment of an 18-wheeler in South Texas.
Joel.Umanzor@chron.com
