Death Toll Rises to 50 in Migrant Tractor-Trailer Tragedy Arelis R. Hernández, Nick Miroff and Maria Sacchetti - WAPO
go to original June 28, 2022

Police block the scene where a semitrailer was discovered in San Antonio on June 27, 2022. (Eric Gay/AP)

Update: Toll Now at 53 in San Antonio as Families Wait for Answers (Associated Press)

The number of migrants dead in a suspected smuggling operation rose to 50 on Tuesday, the Mexican consulate reported, a day after dozens of bodies were found lifeless in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in San Antonio.

Roberto Velasco Álvarez, head of North American mission for the Mexican government, wrote on Twitter that 22 of the victims were Mexican nationals, seven were originally from Guatemala and at least two were Honduran. There are 19 individuals for whom no nationality has been determined.

Álvarez was one of several government officials at the scene where law enforcement made the gruesome discovery Monday. Smuggling organizations regularly pack together scores of people who pay thousands of dollars to be snuck past highway checkpoints across South Texas. In recent years, there have been several deadly human trafficking incidents on U.S. soil — but the death toll in Monday’s tragedy surpassed all those events.

San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said Monday that 16 people from the truck were alive, including four teenagers, and have been transported to various hospitals in the region. Five patients were taken to Baptist Medical Center, where two later died, a spokesperson said. Three remain in critical condition. A University Health Systems representative said the hospital received two patients, a 23-year-old woman in serious condition and an adolescent in critical condition.

Temperatures in San Antonio have been in the triple-digit range for weeks and inside the refrigerated trailer there was no air conditioning unit or water located. Similar fatal cases showed temperatures under such conditions could rise to above 173 degrees inside the trailer.

Police Chief William McManus said three people were in custody but their alleged connection to the smuggling attempt is not yet clear. Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that specializes in human trafficking cases, has taken command of the investigation, authorities said.

McManus said it’s possible some people may have escaped before officers arrived and they will search early Tuesday for any other survivors. At least one person was found dead about 20 yards from the truck doors where they apparently collapsed.

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