In Laredo, Texas, a medical examiner from South Texas suspects that heat stroke may have been the cause of death for six individuals believed to be migrants. These tragic discoveries were made on Sunday afternoon inside a shipping container situated at a Union Pacific rail yard close to the Mexico border.
The grim find occurred when rail yard workers were inspecting the container, according to Laredo Police Department spokesperson, Jose Baeza.
Emergency responders, including police and fire services, quickly arrived on the scene. Upon their arrival, it was confirmed that six individuals, comprising five men and one woman, had died, Baeza informed the media.
Dr. Corinne Stern, serving as the Webb County Medical Examiner, is in the process of conducting autopsies. She has completed one for a 29-year-old Mexican woman, whose death was attributed to hyperthermia, commonly known as heat stroke. “I’ve determined her death was accidental,” she stated. “While I suspect the other individuals also perished due to heat stroke, I am withholding final conclusions until their examinations are completed.”
Dr. Stern discovered identification documents and mobile phones suggesting the deceased may be from Mexico and Honduras. To verify their identities and nationalities, fingerprints have been shared with U.S. Border Patrol via the Missing Alien Program.
The medical examiner’s office also contacted the Mexican consulate after identifying the woman.
“This was a horrific scene,” Stern added, also noting that immigrant deaths is a common occurrence in the ten-county region her office covers. “This spring has been busier than it was this time last year,” the medical examiner said.
Border encounters dropped toward the end of the Biden administration and reached record low numbers under the second Trump administration. About 40 people are encountered crossing illegally by Border Patrol agents in Laredo in March making it the third busiest sector among nine along the southwest border, according to the agency’s statistics.
The travel history of the shipping container was not known.
“Union Pacific is saddened by this incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate,” the rail company said in a statement.
Laredo is a busy land port of entry for trade on the U.S.-Mexico border and a common nexus for the illegal movement of people, although authorities have not said whether the six deaths were related to a smuggling operation.
Last year, two smugglers were sentenced to life in prison for what remains the nation’s deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. They were convicted in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants found in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas in 2022.
Smuggling on trains crossing the border has long been a concern partly because trains headed to the United States often slow or stop in Mexico before crossing the border. That creates an opportunity for smugglers or immigrants to climb aboard or hide drugs or other contraband on a train before it crosses into America.
Union Pacific has worked with authorities for years to address drug smuggling and trespassers trying to cross the border on trains. As part of that effort, the railroad has installed inspection portals that scan the trains and take pictures to help spot any abnormalities that would suggest contraband or immigrants aboard the train.
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This story updates throughout to change reference of boxcar to shipping container, as per Union Pacific.