Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed at least 46 people died inside the truck.
Citing a source close to the investigation, San Antonio broadcaster WOAI said the dead were believed to be migrants and that the truck was found next to the tracks in the city’s Southwest neighborhood. .
Fire officials confirmed that 16 other people, including four children, were taken to hospital and there was “hope of survival”.
During a news conference, San Antonio’s fire chief, Charles Hood, said the truck was cooled but had no water or air conditioning working, adding that the patient felt hot to the touch and was exhausted. heat energy.
“We weren’t allowed to open a truck and see piles of bodies. No one came to do it,” he said.
No children were among the dead, the official confirmed.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus confirmed that three people are in custody and a federal investigation has been launched.
This is the biggest incident in the city, he added.
Mr Abbott, a Republican politician, tweeted that “these deaths are on Biden”, adding: “They are the result of his deadly open border policies.”
Police cordon off the scene where a moth was found with many dead bodies, Monday, June 27, 2022, in San Antonio. (AP Photo / Eric Gay)
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said there was “nothing about human tragedy,” adding: “Our job isn’t to ask why. Our job is to ask how we can be.” can help.”
Mexico’s Foreign Minister, Marcel Ebrard, said that a consul was on his way to the vicinity and that at least two of those hospitalized were from Guatemala.
“Tragedy in Texas. Reportedly suffocated to death in trailer,” he wrote on Twitter.
“European Union license plate trailer, stacked, to circulate without editing. Most likely authored by traffickers.”
Archbishop Gustavo, a Catholic priest in San Antonio who mourned the tragedy shortly after the Uvalde shooting, wrote on Twitter: “Lord, have mercy on them. They were hoping for a good life. more beautiful after Uvalde and now this, help us! We need you! A lot of people suffer. God, God, God.”
Although no official cause of death has been recorded, temperatures in San Antonio, about 250 kilometers (250 kilometers) from the Mexican border, peaked at 103F (39.4C) on Monday with high humidity.
