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World|life|July 24, 2017 / 10:49 AM
9 people dead after sweltering tractor-trailer found at San Antonio Walmart

AKIPRESS.COM - At least nine people are dead after a phone call from a Walmart employee led to the discovery of dozens of undocumented immigrants severely injured in the back of a tractor-trailer in Texas early Sunday, CNN reported citing federal authorities.

More than 100 undocumented immigrants may have been sandwiched in the back of the 18-wheeler during the journey, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Thomas Homan said, citing initial interviews with survivors.

"Checking the video from the store, we found there were a number of vehicles that came in and picked up a lot of the folks that were in that trailer that survived the trip," San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said. "We are looking at a human trafficking crime here."

The employee told authorities the trailer was parked at a Walmart lot in San Antonio. A man who was in it asked the employee for water.

The employee brought water for the man, then called police and asked them to conduct a welfare check, McManus said.

That's when authorities discovered eight bodies and 31 people suffering from various injuries, authorities said. A ninth victim later died at a hospital, ICE officials said.

A heatstroke can cause swelling of the brain and other vital organs, possibly causing permanent damage, if a person's body temperature isn't quickly lowered, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Officials said the air conditioner in the trailer was not working. And the high temperature in San Antonio on Saturday was 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).

"Unfortunately, some of them were severely overheated, and that was a refrigerated truck with no refrigeration," Hood said. "So the inside of the truck was just austere condition that nobody was going to survive in it. So we were very fortunate that they were found."

Two of the people hospitalized are 15 years old, the fire spokesman said.

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