SAN ANTONIO — Community members gathered near the scene of where nearly 50 migrants were found dead inside the trailer of an 18-wheeler.
We spoke to a man who lives nearby. He's also a truck driver, and he said he can't believe there were any survivors at all because of the intense heat and no water.
"I just can't understand...I never would do that, not even with air conditions inside you know," said Oscar Alvarado.
He also described what the people inside that truck may have faced.
"Trailers like that without A/C -- it's going to get at least, if it's 100 outside, it goes for about 125 degrees inside without water or nothing," he said. "Ridiculous. Just don't understand how drivers can do that."
Forty-six people were found dead of heat-related injuries inside the semitruck in far southwest San Antonio on Monday evening, and federal authorities have opened an investigation.
San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood said 16 others were taken to local hospitals. Of those, 12 are adults and four are "pediatric" patients.
“The plight of migrants seeking refuge is always a humanitarian crisis. Tonight we’re dealing with a horrific human tragedy," San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened in San Antonio; 39 people were found in a truck trailer in a Walmart parking lot. Eight died in the truck, and two later at a hospital. The driver of the vehicle was sentenced to life in prison without parole. His name is James Matthew Bradley.
If the incident is confirmed as having started as a smuggling attempt, it would be the deadliest such event in U.S. history.