At least 50 migrants died after being stuck inside a tractor-trailer on Monday on a remote back road in San Antonio city of Texas in one of the deadliest human trafficking incidents in the history of United States.
A total of 46 people were found dead at the scene. Twelve adults and four children who were found alive were taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion and heat stroke, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told reporters. But four died later on Tuesday in hospital.
“This is nothing short of a horrific human tragedy,” said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg at a news briefing, adding that the deceased were “families who were likely trying to find a better life.”
The city’s fire chief, Charles Hood, said the survivors were dehydrated and were too frail to exit the truck. “We’re not supposed to open up a truck and see stacks of bodies in there,” Hood said. “None of us come to work imagining that.”
U.S. President Joe Biden called the deaths “horrifying and heartbreaking.”
“Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy, and my administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry,” Biden said in a statement.
The nationality of the victims is still being confirmed. At least 22 of the dead were from Mexico, seven from Guatemala and two from Honduras, according to officials.
Migration to the U.S. is on the rise and most of the migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border are from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.