Dozens more taken to San Antonio area hospitals
Nine illegal immigrants died in a tractor trailer semi truck in a Wal-Mart parking lot in San Antonio after they were smuggled into the United States.
8 bodies were discovered inside the truck after someone asked a Wal-Mart employee for water around 12:30 am. The employee called 911.
A 9th victim died at a hospital. The cause of death was dehydration and heat stroke.
Police also found 30 people suffering from symptoms of heat heat stroke inside the trailer. They were transported to area hospitals.
Most of the survivors had heart rates of 130 beats per minute when they were assessed at the scene by paramedics.
Police reviewed surveillance video and saw the truck arrive and park in the back of the Wal-Mart parking lot in San Antonio, Texas early Sunday.
Numerous cars were seen arriving and picking up about 100 people from the trailer. The 29 survivors were too weak to walk out of the trailer.
Officials say the victims’ bodies were still hot to the touch when they were found, according to the NY Daily News.
Temperatures outside reached 101 degrees Saturday, which means temperature inside the trailer climbed to 125 degrees in an hour.
“They were very hot to the touch. So these people were in this trailer without any signs of any type of water,” Fire Chief Charles Hood told The News. “It was a mass casualty situation for us.”
Authorities arrested the driver and charged him with human trafficking.
Some of the victims were from Mexico, and at least two were from Guatemala, according to The News.
The majority of the victims were in their early to late 20s. The two youngest survivors were 15 years old.
