Eight dead bodies were found in a lorry parked in a Walmart parking lot on Sunday morning, according to the New York Times. The bodies were discovered by San Antonio authorities. According to the police chief, William McManus, it is a "Human Trafficking crime."
Immigrants died of dehydration and heatstroke
The Sun reported that 8 immigrants -- including two children -- died because of dehydration and heatstroke inside the trailer. Texas cops found at least thirty-eight people in the back of a trailer, and at least thirty were taken to the hospital, with twenty in serious condition.
The San Antonio Police Department spokesman said two victims (15-years-old) were injured, and eight dead bodies were taken to the Bexar County Medical Examiner to find out the cause of death. The air conditioning in the trailer was not working and there was no water for the immigrants locked in the trailer. The local office of NWS (National Weather Service) said that on Saturday the temperature in San Antonio was 101 degrees before 5 p.m. and 90 degrees until 10 o'clock at night.
The fire chief of San Antonio -- Chare Hood -- said, “they were very hot to the touch. So these people were in this trailer without any signs of any type of water.” According to the medical team and firefighters, one of the survivors had a heart rate of 130 beats/minute.
Police department and Homeland Security working the case
Police chief William McManus said at a new conference that on Saturday night a person from the truck approached a worker at the store who was making the rounds at the time and asked for water. The worker called the police, and the driver of the truck was arrested.
"He was approached by someone from that truck who was asking for water, he came back with water, he called the police.
We arrived on the scene and found eight people dead in the back of that trailer," McManus said. According to the police chief, video footage showed that survivors in the truck were approached by many vehicles and were picked up.
McManus added that Homeland Security and Customs Enforcement will work with the police department to investigate this horrific tragedy.
There is no more information regarding how long the trailer had been in the parking lot of Walmart, nor where it came from.
McManus also said that residents need to call the police right away if they find anything suspicious. While any death is tragic, it is remarkable that more were not found dead at the scene.
