46 migrants found dead inside truck trailer in San Antonio, Texas: officials – National | Globalnews.ca

At least 46 people believed to be migrants were found dead in the back of a tractor-trailer in San Antonio on Monday, according to law enforcement officials.

Sixteen others, including four children, were found alive and taken from the vehicle to receive medical treatment, police and medical officials told a news conference.

No children were among those found deceased, the officials said.

The discovery is among the worst instances of migrant deaths in recent history, and comes amid a rise in illegal migration into the U.S. across its southern border.

Gov. Greg Abbott, who earlier Monday evening had said the death toll was at 42 people did not release any official statement through his office.

Instead, Abbott tweeted a news article about the discovery while blaming U.S. President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.

“These deaths are on Biden,” the governor wrote. “They are a result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”

San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller wrote on Twitter that the migrants had “hoped for a better life.”

“Lord have mercy on them,” he wrote.

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The Washington Post said the truck was found by agents from Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that deals with human trafficking cases, citing the anonymous officials.

According to the New York Times, San Antonio police officers were searching for the driver of the tractor-trailer, who is believed to have abandoned the vehicle before it was discovered in a remote area of the city.

All of the victims were believed to be entering into the United States illegally from Mexico and had been brought north after crossing the border, which was roughly 225 kilometres away from where the truck was found.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the Mexican consul was en route to the site of the discovery, although he noted the nationalities of the victims were still unknown.

The Mexican General Consulate in San Antonio said on Twitter that it would provide aid to any Mexicans involved in the incident, if there were any.

More to come…