Eight people, believed to be illegal immigrants being smuggled into the US, were found dead inside a sweltering 18 wheeler trailer found parked behind a Walmart in San Antonio early Sunday. News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"This appears to be a case of human trafficking," he told reporters in an early morning news conference at the scene, along Interstate 35 on the city's southwest side.
One person, the driver of the truck, has been arrested, McManus said. He said other suspects ran off when police arrived.
"Checking the video, there were a number of vehicles that came and picked up other people who were in that trailer," he said.
San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood says emergency crews found a total of 38 people packed into the trailer where the air conditioning was not working, and with no access to water. He doesn't know how many in total were in the trailer before the others were removed, apparently by the smugglers.
"Twenty people were transported by helicopter to seven area hospitals, Hood said. He said their conditions range from 'critical to very critical.' Eight others are hospitalized in less serious condition.
"We are lucky we aren't looking at 38 dead people here this morning," Hood said.
He says the victims range from 'school age juveniles' to adults in their twenties and thirties. McManus says officials were led to the scene by a man who approached a store employee asking for water.
McManus said the Department of Homeland Security has joined the investigation. He said right now, officials don't know where the truck left from.
During the day on Saturday the temperature in San Antonio topped 100 degrees.
"This is a horrible tragedy," McManus said.
Immigrant smuggling, generally done by Mexico's drug cartels, has long been a problem in south Texas. But as more and more people from Central America, Africa and Asia attempt to illegally enter the US, and the country's southern border has been hardened by additional Border Patrol officers, technology, and barriers, the human trafficking of immigrants into the US has increased.