San Antonio law enforcement officials who were investigating the site where at least 46 migrants were found dead due to suffocation and heat said the migrants inside the truck were sprinkled with steak seasoning to cover up their smell, according to a Texas Tribune report.
Officials speaking to the local media outlet said the truck contained a refrigeration system which was not working.
The law enforcement officials reached the spot after one worker who resided in the area heard screams for help near the intersection of Cassin Drive and Quintana Road in Southwest San Antonio.
Law enforcement officials are using thermal imaging equipment to see if people were kept in the woods adjoining the railway tracks near the intersection.
The officials said upon reaching the site they found signs that people alive inside the truck were trying to get out as they were suffocated due to the blistering heat.
They could not though as they did not have the strength to get out and were also severely dehydrated with no access to water.
However, when they reached first they found a body outside the vehicle and the rest were inside.
Temperatures across the area soared above 37°C. Texas’ San Antonio records 9 days on an average per year when temperatures soar above 37°C, this year it is expected to cross 16.
Meanwhile, the nationality of those who died inside the tractor-trailer are yet to be determined.
The report by Texas Tribune said Guatemalan officials in a statement said US and Mexican officials confirmed some of the victims are from Guatemala.
The Mexican consul in San Antonio was en route to the incident site and they are working with authorities to find the identities of the rest of the victims, Mexican foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard said.
At least 46 people were found dead inside a tractor-trailer – all of them suspected migrants – along with 16 others, all of who were being smuggled into the United States via its southern border.
Three people were taken into custody but it is not confirmed if they were connected to the incident.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the San Antonio police department have launched a criminal probe into the incident.
“This is nothing short of a horrific human tragedy,” Ron Nirenberg, San Antonio mayor said.
(with inputs from the Texas Tribune)
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