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Two Migrants Found Dead and 13 Others Ill on Train in Texas, Authorities Say Two Migrants Found Dead and 13 Others Ill on Train in Texas, Authorities Say
(about 3 hours later)
SAN ANTONIO — The bodies of two people believed to be migrants who had crossed into Texas from Mexico were found on Friday, along with 13 more people, including at least five who were described as in critical condition, inside a shipping container on a stopped train in Uvalde County, an area known for frequent immigration crossings, officials said. SAN ANTONIO — The bodies of two people believed to be migrants who had crossed into Texas from Mexico were found on Friday, along with 13 more people, including at least five who were in critical condition, inside a shipping container on a train in Uvalde County, officials said.
The mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin Jr., said that at around 3:50 p.m., a 911 call alerted the authorities that about 15 people, most of them believed to be adults, were trapped inside a sweltering shipping container in an area where spring temperatures have hovered in the 80s in recent days. The train, which was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol agents, was traveling near the town of Knippa through an area of Texas known for frequent immigration crossings.
It was unclear if the call had come from inside the container or if one of the people trapped inside had managed to call a relative and ask for help, the mayor said. When the officers arrived, the container was locked and “wired shut,” said Mr. McLaughlin, who had been briefed by the authorities. At 3:50 p.m., a person called 911 and told dispatchers that about 12 to 15 people were experiencing severe symptoms of dehydration and were trapped inside a sweltering shipping container in an area where spring temperatures have hovered in the 80s in recent days, said Daniel Rodriguez, the chief of police for the city of Uvalde, about 11 miles west of Knippa. “The way they said it was, they were suffocating — they were having trouble breathing” he said.
By the time officers managed to pry open the container, they found that two of the people inside were dead and many others were severely dehydrated, he said. Several of the migrants were loaded into ambulances. Five were flown to San Antonio, 60 miles east, and a handful of the migrants seemed to be in good health, the mayor said. It was unclear if the call had come from inside the container or if one of the people trapped inside had managed to call a relative and ask for help, said the mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin Jr., who was briefed by the authorities.
The local police immediately contacted U.S. Border Patrol agents, who were able to stop the train about three miles east of Knippa, a town of fewer than 1,000 people, the chief said. When the Border Patrol agents arrived, the container was locked and “wired shut,” Mr. McLaughlin said.
By the time officers managed to pry open the container, they found that two of the people inside were dead and many others were severely dehydrated, the mayor said.
Chief Rodriguez said that five people in critical condition had been flown to hospitals in San Antonio, 60 miles east, and that five others had been taken by ambulance to area hospitals. Three others received care at the scene, he said.
Images from a local news outlet showed a heavy police presence, with local and state police personnel and U.S. Border Patrol agents descending on the rural border region and helicopters hovering over a freight train alongside Highway 90.Images from a local news outlet showed a heavy police presence, with local and state police personnel and U.S. Border Patrol agents descending on the rural border region and helicopters hovering over a freight train alongside Highway 90.
The grisly discovery comes months after more than 50 migrants were found dead inside an overheated tractor-trailer in San Antonio, part of a troubling pattern in which human traffickers abandon migrants in deserted areas without regard for their safety, the mayor said. Schools are constantly being put on lockdown when Border Patrol agents pursue migrants trying to evade the authorities in populated areas. Officials with the Department of Public Safety in Texas plan to take the lead in investigating what led to the tragedy, Chief Rodriguez said.
“We need to be addressing what’s going on here in South Texas,” he said. “It’s a tragedy that human lives are being lost — two lives that did not have to be lost. This happens weekly down here — not Uvalde, but the South Texas area.” The grisly discovery comes months after more than 50 migrants were found dead inside an overheated tractor-trailer in San Antonio, part of a troubling pattern in which human traffickers abandon migrants in deserted areas without regard for their safety, officials said. Schools are constantly being put on lockdown when Border Patrol agents pursue migrants trying to evade the authorities in populated areas.
The chief of the Uvalde Police Department, Daniel Rodriguez, told KSAT, a local news station, that the tragedy had compounded the grief the small community of Uvalde had been experiencing since the mass shooting last May in which a teenage gunman burst into Robb Elementary School and killed 19 children and two teachers. “We need to be addressing what’s going on here in South Texas,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “It’s a tragedy that human lives are being lost — two lives that did not have to be lost. This happens weekly down here — not Uvalde, but the South Texas area.”
“It’s sad to see that so many undocumented immigrants were found in this condition, and two of them lost their lives,” Chief Rodriguez said. “It’s heartbreaking.” Chief Rodriguez said that the deaths compounded the grief the small community of Uvalde had been experiencing since the mass shooting last May in which a teenage gunman burst into Robb Elementary School and killed 19 children and two teachers.
“These individuals, they put themselves in so much danger, trying to come over to U.S.,” the chief said. “It’s just tragic that two people have to lose their lives. It’s a tragedy in a town that has seen a lot of tragedy.”