According to reports from the Washington Post, BBC and other media, police in Texas, USA, found 46 bodies in an abandoned large container truck on June 27. Another 16 survivors were rushed to the hospital but were in serious condition. serious. Preliminary analysis shows that the

According to reports from the " Washington Post ", BBC and other media, the Texas police in the United States found 46 bodies in an abandoned large container truck on June 27, and 16 survivors were rushed to the hospital. But the situation is quite serious.

’s preliminary analysis is that these people are immigrants who entered the United States illegally. The temperature that day was as high as 39.4°C, and people crowded in the container felt like they were in an oven. The police have arrested 3 suspects. This is also the deadliest death of an illegal immigrant in the history of the United States.

The police

46 bodies were found in a container truck

16 people, including 4 children, survived

Reports said that on the evening of June 27, local time, the police in San Antonio, Texas, USA received a notification that a car was recycling near a railway or near a car. An 18-wheel large container truck was found in a remote area of ​​the site, and multiple bodies were found packed in the container. A large number of police cars and ambulances arrived at the scene.

Fire Chief Hood said: "This is simply a human tragedy. I really don't want this tragedy to happen again. We should not open a truck and see piles of bodies. No one's job should be like this."

San Antonio The police said at a press conference on the 27th that the police arrived at the scene after being reported in the evening. At that time, a worker in a nearby building heard a cry for help. The worker found a container truck with a half-open door and saw something inside. Multiple bodies.

The police said that there are currently 16 survivors, including 12 adults and 4 children, who have been sent to nearby medical institutions for treatment. The survivors were very hot, suffering from heatstroke and exhaustion, but they were still conscious when they were sent to the hospital. Several people are in critical condition and the death toll may rise again.

Investigation

There was no water or air conditioning in the container truck

Three suspects were arrested by the police

Reports said that San Antonio is about 250 kilometers away from the Mexican border. On the day of the incident, the temperature was as high as 39.4°C and the humidity was quite high. Everyone was stuffed into airtight containers and heated to death. It was like being in "hell on earth."

San Antonio police said at a press conference that there was no water and no air conditioning in the container truck. It was a refrigerated container truck, but no working air conditioning unit was found. The temperature that day was as high as 39.4°C. The temperature inside a container truck full of people may be even higher. If you continue to stay in such a high temperature environment, you will suffer from heat stroke, dehydration and death.

At present, the case is still under investigation. The police are investigating the human smuggling operation and are fully pursuing the driver who abandoned the car. Three suspects have been arrested by the police, but it is not clear whether they are related to human trafficking. The

investigation is led by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that an investigative team from the Department of Homeland Security has arrived at the scene, but she could not disclose further details.

Identity

Most of the victims were young people

They were immigrants who crossed the border illegally into the United States

The police said that the 46 corpses found this time were all adults, mostly young people, and there were no children. The 16 survivors included 4 The children were found unable to get out of the container truck on their own. It is reported that at least two of them are from the Central American country Guatemala.

Although the nationality of the victim has not yet been confirmed, Mexican Foreign Minister Ebrard tweeted that the death of an illegal immigrant in a container truck was a "Texas tragedy" and that members of the Mexican consulate there had gone to the scene to understand the situation. He believes the culprit is likely to be human traffickers.

According to the " New York Times " report, the victims are all immigrants who illegally crossed the border into the United States. The incident appears to be the worst migrant death in recent years as the Texas government tries to manage a record influx of immigrants from Mexico.

Texas South Texas has long been the busiest area for illegal border crossings. Migrants travel in vehicles through U.S.-Mexico Border Patrol checkpoints on their way to the nearest major city, San Antonio, from where they disperse across the United States.

This incident once again highlights the difficulty of curbing immigration in the United States. A retired official from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pointed out that the highway near the accident site has always been a popular smuggling route due to the large volume of trucks.

Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice had listed Interstate 10 and Interstate 35 passing through San Antonio as "major human smuggling routes." The entire Texas is even regarded as a "human smuggling center" by some media.

San Antonio Police Chief McManus said that the reason why human smuggling incidents often occur locally is mainly related to the city's geographical location. San Antonio is an important transportation hub in Texas and a transfer station for the country's three interstate highways. At the same time, it is also close to the border, only about two hours' drive from Mexico.

Current situation

Number of migrants crossing the border hits record high

Texas governor: These dead are all Biden

In recent months, the number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has hit a record high, triggering domestic criticism of Democratic President Joe Biden's immigration policies. of criticism.

Due to its border with Mexico, Texas has become the "gateway" for many illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central American countries to enter the United States. In May of this year, nearly 240,000 illegal immigrants were intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection . Since Biden took office, the number of illegal immigrants has increased sharply, with more than 1 million illegal immigrants arrested in the first half of this year.

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott blamed U.S. President Biden for the immigrant deaths. He bluntly stated on Twitter: "These deaths are all counted on Biden, which is the fatal result of his open border policy." The latest data from

shows that from Turkey, India, Russia and other countries outside the Western Hemisphere The numbers are growing, and large numbers of migrants from Mexico, Central America, Cuba and Haiti continue to cross the border. "I have been worried about tragedies like this for months, as illegal crossings by truck become a popular method," U.S. immigration officials said. "As summer temperatures begin to rise, human traffickers will continue to exploit vulnerable people and operate with impunity for financial gain." Endangering immigrant lives.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection death data indicate that there have been 557 deaths at the U.S. southwest border in the past 12 months, the highest number since records began in 1998, most of which were related to heat injuries. related.

reveals the secret of smuggling people to and from the U.S.-Mexico border with a familiar face

An American truck driver took desperate measures to help people smuggle people across the border

Reports said that this has become one of the deadliest tragedies of smuggling people on the U.S.-Mexico border in recent decades. Cases of people smuggling into the United States using trucks to smuggle themselves into the United States happen from time to time. Why do so many people choose to smuggle themselves into the United States in trucks despite knowing that the road to smuggling is difficult and dangerous?

Central American migrants fleeing poverty and violence often take dangerous routes through Mexico to reach the United States. Smugglers sometimes pack immigrants into large container trucks under extremely dangerous conditions to allow them to enter the United States illegally. Under the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the economic recession in Central American countries has made more people choose to take risks.

Why do people always use trucks to sneak across the border?

reported that the truck is actually the last step in the smuggling process. The smugglers take various means of transportation from Mexico, Haiti, Honduras , Guatemala and other places to near the US-Mexico border before trying to smuggle into the United States in a truck. Most illegal immigrants want to go to large cities in the United States to find work or family there. Some American truck drivers frequently travel between the U.S.-Mexico border, so border agents will let their guard down when they get through. In order to make extra money, some people decided to take the risk and carry illegal immigrants into the country on their return trip. In order to earn higher profits, they are sometimes forced to carry more people. However, in the confined space of a truck, casualties are often caused by insufficient oxygen, high temperature and other reasons.

The riddled U.S.-Mexico border

html The tragedy that occurred on the 27th is considered to be the most serious migrant death incident on the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years. However, against the background of the United States' interference in South America's internal affairs over the years and the intensification of economic problems in South American countries, such tragedies have happened more than once.The New York Times on the 27th took stock of several shocking immigrant deaths on the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years:

In 2003, in the southern Texas city of Victoria, sheriff’s deputies discovered the bodies of 17 immigrants in an overheated truck. Including a 7-year-old boy.

In 2012, a Ford pickup truck carrying more than 20 illegal immigrants crashed into two trees, killing 15 people.

In 2017, a truck carrying more than 200 illegal immigrants appeared in San Antonio, Texas. They were left without water, food and fresh air for several hours. In the end, 10 men died and nearly 30 were hospitalized.

In 2019, an SUV carrying illegal immigrants fell into a ditch and crashed in rural southern Texas after being chased by police. It was rainy weather at the time, and the accident resulted in 6 deaths.

Last August, a van carrying illegal immigrants crashed in south Texas, killing at least 10 people. Huashang Daily reporter Guo Ji compiled