Eight people have been found dead in the back of a truck outside a Walmart store in Texas, and another has since died in hospital, in what police are calling a “horrific” human-trafficking case.
Key points:
- Driver in custody after eight found dead in truck
- Several others found in critical condition
- Police say the “horrific tragedy” is related to human trafficking
Another 30 people, many suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion, were found with the bodies in the truck, which lacked air conditioning or a water supply despite blistering summer temperatures.
One of them later died in hospital, taking the number of victims to nine.
“They were very hot to the touch — so these people were in this trailer without any signs of any type of water,” San Antonio Fire chief Charles Hood said.
Officials said many of those inside the truck appeared to be adults in their 20s and 30s, but that there also appeared to be two school-age children.
The truck’s driver was arrested and will be charged, US Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Richard Durbin, said.
“These people were helpless in the hands of their transporters,” Mr Durbin said in a statement, adding the heat in southern Texas is “punishing” at this time of year.
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