Authorities found 46 dead migrants inside a truck in San Antonio, Texas, according to City Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, who says she was told about the situation by the San Antonio police chief.
Rocha Garcia, who represents San Antonio District 4, told GLM Monday night that 16 other people were taken to the hospital.
The San Antonio mayor’s office tells GLM a news conference is planned for 10 pm ET.
The Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, he said through his Twitter account that a Mexican consul was on his way to the site.
According to Ebrard, the migrants would have died “asphyxiated.” “Condolences to the victims and their families. We still do not know nationalities,” wrote the foreign minister of the government of President Andrés Manuel Obrador, who will meet with the president of the United States, Joe Biden, next July.
Although the local police have not been able to confirm the exact number of deceased, it is believed that they were migrants who could have crossed the border between Mexico and the US crowded in the vehicle, the local newspaper The Texas Tribune advanced.
The discovery occurred on the outskirts of San Antonio, near the Lackland Air Force Base, where, in addition to the deceased, they also found dozens of people who needed urgent medical assistance.
The authorities confirmed the event to GLM, although they did not specify the nationalities of the deceased, and called a press conference to report the event as more details become known.
For the moment, the Mexican consulate in San Antonio reported that it will provide support to all “Mexican nationals, if any.”
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard also referred to the event.
“Tragedy in Texas. Reportedly suffocated in box of trailer. Consul en route to the point. Condolences to the victims and their families. We do not know nationalities yet, ”she advanced.
According to the local press, the area where the trailer was located is a common place where vehicles stop to unload immigrants after crossing the border clandestinely. Temperatures in San Antonio reached 40ºC this Monday.
Authorities believe the truck driver abandoned the vehicle with all passengers inside minutes before police investigated its contents.