Police say 6 migrants found in train car died of heatstroke

All six people whose remains were discovered in a boxcar in South Texas died from heatstroke before they were found by law enforcement, Laredo Mayor Victor Treviño said at a news conference Thursday.

The victims were previously identified as five males and one female, ranging in age from 14 to 56, according to the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office. Authorities have not released their names.

Three of the people were from Mexico and three were from Honduras, police said.

“Today, our community is still mourning a heartbreaking discovery,” Treviño told reporters.

“Let me be clear, we are demanding justice for these lives lost,” he added. “It doesn’t matter where they came from.”

Laredo Police Chief Miguel Rodriguez at a news conference Thursday about the discovery of six dead people in a boxcar.Laredo Police Department

The Laredo Police Department was called to a Union Pacific train on Sunday afternoon after an employee reported a “trailer boxcar with the discovery of multiple casualties in the car.”

The train had departed from Long Beach, California, on May 7 and arrived in Del Rio, Texas, on May 9, Laredo Police Chief Miguel Rodriguez said. It was there that the six people were loaded into the boxcar, according to the preliminary investigation.

The train traveled from Del Rio through San Antonio and onward to Laredo. Local police said they presume the deaths were tied to a human smuggling operation and have contacted the Department of Homeland Security. Federal officials are leading the investigation, Rodriguez said.

Union Pacific train cars at a rail yard in Laredo on Sunday.KGNS via AP

A seventh person was found dead near railroad tracks in San Antonio on Monday. That investigation remains ongoing. Officials have not determined whether that death is related to the Laredo case, Rodriguez said.

Treviño, a local physician, urged people who might be considering crossing into the U.S. to avoid the perilous journey and instead wait for legal authorization.

“We understand the desire for a better life, but do not come here illegally,” he said, before repeating the message in Spanish.

“Smugglers do not care about your safety and will place you in a life-threatening situation or condition without hesitation,” he added.