About 46 people believed to be migrants were found dead in an abandoned container truck on the outskirts of San Antonio, texas in the United States. Sixteen people, including four children, were taken to hospital, a fire official said. Survivors were "hot to the touch." Suffered from Heat Stroke and Heat Fatigue.
San Antonio, about 250 km from the US-Mexico border, is an important transportation route for smugglers. Smugglers often use lorries to pick up undocumented immigrants after they cross the U.S. border to meet them in remote areas. "They had families. They may have been trying to find a better life for themselves. It's a terrible tragedy," said San Antonio Mayor Ron Niranberg.
Charles Hood, head of the San Antonio fire Department, told reporters that emergency first responders arrived at the scene after initially learning of the deaths around 6 p.m., local time. "When we opened a truck we should not have seen layers of dead bodies inside it. None of us could have imagined it and coming to work," he said. He said the vehicle abandoned by the driver had no cooling facility and no drinking water inside.
According to the local television channel KSAT, the vehicle was found next to the railroad tracks in southwestern San Antonio. A large number of emergency aides, including police, fire and ambulance services, could be seen surrounding the large truck.
