​9 people died in human trafficking truck

At least nine people have died and 30 others are in hospital after being crammed into a truck found in a parking lot in San Antonio, Texas.

The truck was found in Texas. Photo: Reuters

Police determined it was a human trafficking case. San Antonio is a city about a two-hour drive from the Mexican border.

Authorities said 17 of those hospitalized were in critical condition with heatstroke and dehydration. Of the 39 people found, at least two were children. It is unclear how many other migrants fled.

CNN quoted the city's police chief William McManus as saying that the dead were all men. Their identities could not be determined until their families confirmed them.

McManus police said they received a call from a nearby supermarket employee about a suspicious truck in the parking lot. “Someone in the truck came up to him and asked for water,” McManus said. Police arrived and found the victims.

“We are witnessing a human trafficking crime,” Mr McManus said, describing the incident as a “horrific tragedy.

Occurs frequently

US police arrested the driver, James Mathew Bradley Jr, 60, of Florida. He was charged on July 24, local time.

They also reported the incident to officials from the federal Customs and Immigration Service.

Charles Hood, the local fire chief, said the truck was sweltering in the sun because the air conditioning system inside was not working. Temperatures inside the truck could reach 65 degrees Celsius.

“If the truck had stayed there overnight, they would all have died,” said Mr. Hood.

McManus police said such incidents “happen all the time” despite efforts by US immigration and homeland security agencies.

But the acting director of USCIS, Thomas Homan, said the latest case was “a reminder of why human trafficking networks must be pursued, arrested and punished”.

According to Tuoi Tre