Status: 06/28/2022 05:49
At least 46 dead migrants were found in a truck in the US state of Texas. 16 survivors were taken to hospitals. Migrants are repeatedly smuggled from Mexico to the United States in trucks.
46 dead migrants were found in a truck in the US state of Texas. San Antonio City Fire Chief Charles Hood confirmed the horrific discovery. Accordingly, 16 survivors were taken to hospitals, twelve adults and four children.
“The patients we saw were too hot to touch, they were suffering from heat stroke.” Hood said there was no water in the trailer. It was indeed a refrigerated truck; however, no cooling system was working. Authorities announced three arrests. Mayor Ron Nirenberg spoke of a “terrible human tragedy”.
The nationality of each of the victims is not yet known. According to the first information from the authorities, there are women and men, adolescents and young adults.
The number of illegal border crossings is increasing
The truck was found near the I-35 highway, which leads to the Mexican border. Migrants hiding in trucks are repeatedly smuggled into the United States from Mexico. It’s about 250 kilometers from San Antonio to the border with Mexico.
For months, the number of people trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States has been increasing – even without valid documents. Smugglers and human traffickers promise help with deadly consequences.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, spoke this Monday of a “tragedy” in relation to the 46 dead. He announced that the Mexican consul would go to the scene of the accident, even though the nationality of the victims was not yet known.
Governor blames Biden
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, an arch-conservative, blamed President Joe Biden’s migration policies. “These deaths are Biden’s fault,” Abbott said on Twitter. They are “the result of his deadly open-border policy,” Abbott said. It has “deadly consequences” if the law is not enforced.
Opposition Republicans accuse Biden of taking a very lax course on migration policy and southern border security. They also want to use this topic in their campaign for the midterm parliamentary elections in November.
With information from Torsten Teichmann, ARD-Studio Washington