Dozens of mourners held a vigil outside the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday for nine men who were found dead inside a sweltering tractor trailer parked at a Walmart store in what authorities called a case of “ruthless” human trafficking.
The truck’s driver, named by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as James Mathew Bradley Jr., 60, of Clearwater, Fla., was arrested in connection with the incident and was expected to appear in court on Monday.
Thirty people, many in critical condition and suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion, were removed from the trailer, which lacked air conditioning or a water supply, an official said.
Temperatures outside the vehicle topped 37.8 C.
On Sunday, officials tow a truck that was found in a Walmart parking lot with eight dead inside in San Antonio, Texas. Around 30 people were found alive inside the truck, but one of them later died in hospital. (Darren Abate/EPA)
The dead men, who have not yet been identified, were discovered after officials were led to the trailer by a man who asked a Walmart employee for water.
San Antonio is about 240 kilometres north of the Mexico border.
Authorities were called to the San Antonio parking lot late Saturday or early Sunday and found eight people dead inside the truck. A ninth victim died at the hospital, said Liz Johnson, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Thomas Homan, acting director of ICE, earlier told The Associated Press that two of the people taken to hospital had died but later revised the figure down.
The parking lot of a Walmart, where the truck trailer was found, is seen on Sunday. A Walmart employee alerted police. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/Getty Images)
Based on initial interviews with survivors, Homan said there may have been more than 100 people in the truck. Thirty-eight were found inside. The rest are believed to have fled or been picked up.
Homan says some survivors have identified themselves as Mexican nationals. Four of the passengers are believed to be between 10 and 17 years old.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has taken over the investigation.
San Antonio fire Chief Charles Hood told journalists at the scene early Sunday that paramedics and firefighters who treated the victims found all had accelerated heartbeats when they were taken from the truck in the stifling heat.
“They were very hot to the touch. So, these people were in this trailer without any signs of any type of water,” Hood said.
A San Antonio police officer clears crime scene barrier tape on Sunday near where the truck was found. (Darren Abate/EPA)
