Police block the scene where a semitrailer with multiple dead bodies were discovered, Monday, June 27, 2022, in San Antonio.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
At least 40 people believed to be migrants were found dead in the back of a tractor-trailer in San Antonio on Monday, according to multiple reports citing law enforcement sources.
More than a dozen others were found alive and taken from the vehicle to receive medical treatment, according to the Washington Post and the New York Times. The Associated Press also confirmed the reports.
The information came from officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide preliminary information, according to those outlets and several local media stations that first reported the discovery.
The San Antonio Police Department has yet to provide an official statement. Global News has requested comment.
The exact number of people found dead wasn’t immediately clear, but it appeared to be one of the largest death tolls of alleged migrants in recent years.
A local reporter said Gov. Greg Abbott had confirmed 42 people were found dead, but no official statement has been released by the governor’s office.
Instead, Abbott tweeted a news article about the discovery, which put the death toll at 42, while blaming U.S. President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
“These deaths are on Biden,” the governor wrote. “They are a result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”
San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller wrote on Twitter that 46 migrants had been found dead, appearing to cite the Texas Tribune’s information.
“Lord have mercy on them. They hoped for a better life,” he wrote.
The Washington Post said the truck was found by agents from Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that deals with human trafficking cases, citing the anonymous officials.
According to the New York Times, San Antonio police officers were searching for the driver of the tractor-trailer, who is believed to have abandoned the vehicle before it was discovered in a remote area of the city.
All of the victims were believed to be entering into the United States illegally from Mexico and had been brought north after crossing the border, which was roughly 225 kilometres away from where the truck was found.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the Mexican consul was en route to the site of the discovery, although he noted the nationalities of the victims were still unknown.
The Mexican General Consulate in San Antonio said on Twitter that it would provide aid to any Mexicans involved in the incident, if there were any.
More to come…
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