11 indicted in smuggling deaths of 7 migrants who hid inside Texas cargo container

SAN ANTONIO — A US attorney announced a federal indictment on Friday against 11 people in the smuggling deaths of seven migrants who were hiding inside a sweltering rail cargo container in Texas in May.Six people were found dead inside the shipping container in a rail yard in Laredo, Texas, and another had been left for dead alongside the tracks along the way, according to the US Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R.Simmons.“It’s very hard to survive in an un-air-conditioned, sealed container with … the temperature being what it was on that day,” Simmons said.The group boarded the train in the Texas border town of Del Rio and headed to San Antonio, which officials believe was their intended final destination.

But when smugglers opened the door, a man fell out, so the smugglers closed the door and fled.It’s unclear if he was already dead by then, Simmons said.The remaining six people were left inside the shipping container, and the next day the train departed for Laredo, where a worker at the Union Pacific Rail Yard saw a leg sticking out and found the six bodies inside.“One of those individuals frantically contacted their family as they were dying from the sweltering heat in that container,” Simmons said.The migrants were from Honduras and Mexico and included a 14-year-old boy, authorities said.

Six of the bodies were discovered by a Union Pacific employee.The Webb County medical examiner suspected the deaths were caused by hyperthermia, or heat stroke.The shipping container was stacked on top of another container, could not be opened from the inside and had no ventilation or cooling system.

The temperatures that day ranged from 88 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit (31 to 33 degrees Celsius), the US Attorney’s office said.The group was indicted on two charges: Conspiracy to transport aliens, resulting in death, and aiding and abetting the transportation of aliens resulting in death.Morning Report delivers the latest news, vid...