2 Honduran men found dead in Texas train's shipping container, human smuggling investigation indicated
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KNIPPA, TEXAS: The discovery of two dead Honduran men in a rail car in south Texas has led to an investigation by the US Department of Homeland Security into possible human smuggling. The two men were among 17 people, consisting of 15 men and two women, who were found in two rail cars near Knippa, Texas, on Friday. Four survivors were taken to the hospital, and two were in critical condition as of Saturday, according to reports.
Union Pacific, the railway company involved in the case, issued a statement saying it was “deeply saddened” by the loss of life and is working with authorities to determine how the migrants boarded the train. The company said it had “strict policies” in place to prevent unauthorized access to its trains.
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'Safety is our focus, and we have strict policies'
Nina Pruneda, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said, “We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled,” the Independent reported. Pruneda declined to comment beyond the statement, which did not provide information on whether any of the migrants were in custody.
“Safety is our focus, and we have strict policies in place to prevent unauthorized access to our trains,” the statement from company spokesperson Robynn Tysver mentioned. "We are heartbroken to learn of yet another tragic incident of migrants taking the dangerous journey," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Tweeted.
We are heartbroken to learn of yet another tragic incident of migrants taking the dangerous journey.
— Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (@SecMayorkas) March 25, 2023
Pruneda further stated that four of the survivors found in the cars were taken to hospitals. Their nationalities and conditions were not released. University Health in San Antonio tweeted that two male survivors were in critical condition Saturday. Uvalde police Chief Daniel Rodriguez had said dispatchers received a 911 call at about 3.50 pm Friday from an unknown person seeking help for “numerous undocumented immigrants ‘suffocating’ inside of a train car.”
Two of them died because of extreme heat
Although the suspected cause of the deaths has not been released, the two men’s deaths may have been caused by extreme heat in the shipping container in which they were found, as temperatures in the area were close to 90 F (32 C), and shipping containers can become much hotter than the surrounding temperature.
Last year, more than 50 migrants died after being discovered in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer abandoned on the outskirts of San Antonio. The incident was the deadliest smuggling episode on the US’s southern border, the outlet noted.