At least 46 people were found dead inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas, on Monday, 27 June, in what appears to be a migrant smuggling attempt, AP reported quoting the San Antonio Fire Chief.
Reuters, quoting the fire department, reported that 16 other people found inside the truck were transported to the hospital to be treated for heat stroke. The group includes four minors. The report added that three people were in custody over the incident.
San Antonio's KSAT television reported citing local police sources that the truck was found next to railroad tracks in a remote area on the city's southern outskirts.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, placing the blame for the deaths on US President Joe Biden's policies, said, “They are a result of his deadly open border policies.”
“They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law,” he added.
The US- Mexico border, in recent months, has shown a record number of migrant crossings, inviting criticism to Biden’s immigration policies.
Reuters reported that temperatures in San Antonio, which is about 250 km from the Mexican border, rose to a high of 39.4 degrees Celsius (103 F) with high humidity on Monday.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, calling the event a “horrific human tragedy,” said that migrants seeking asylum should be treated as a “humanitarian crisis.”
2022 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Beto O’Rourke called for dismantling human smuggling rings and “replace them with expanded avenues for legal migration that reflect our values and meet our country’s needs.”
O’Rourke, who won the Democratic nomination for governor on 1 March, is set to challenge incumbent governor Greg Abbott.
Meanwhile, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard termed the event a "tragedy in Texas" on Twitter, and added that the local consulate was en route to the scene, even though the nationalities of the victims have not been confirmed.
Previously in July 2017, the San Antonio police discovered ten migrants in a Wal-Mart parking lot who died after bring transported in a tractor-trailer. The driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr, was sentenced to life imprisonment the following year for his role in the operation.
(With inputs from Reuters, AP and KSAT)
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