53 People Found Dead in Tractor Trailer Outside San Antonio, Texas
The bodies of 53 people who are believed to be migrants were found dead Monday in a tractor-trailer that was abandoned on the south side of San Antonio, Texas.
Agents with the U.S. Border Patrol began arriving at the scene at about 8:00 p.m. Monday evening. Officials who wished to remain anonymous said this was one of the worst events of migrant deaths in years.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said 22 of the victims were Mexican nationals. An additional seven were from Guatemala and two from Honduras. The medical examiner’s office believes they have positively identified 34 of the 53 deceased.
Sixteen people, 12 adults, and 4 children were taken to various hospitals where three victims died. Victims were hot to the touch, dehydrated, and without water.
The truck was abandoned in the 9600 block of Quintana Road. Temperatures on Monday reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit amid a record-breaking heat wave. Throughout June, 17 days have reached a temperature over 100.
Two men were arrested and charged with abandoning the migrants in the tractor-trailer. Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao have been charged with "possession of a weapon by an alien illegally in the United States,” according to CNN.
