(CNN) Two migrants were found dead in a shipping container on a train that authorities stopped east of Uvalde, Texas, on Friday, according to local police. And one is in critical condition and another is in critical condition.
In A press release Friday night, Uvalde police said, “a 911 phone call was received from an unknown third-party caller advising that a large number of undocumented immigrants were ‘asphyxiating’ inside a train car.” U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped the train, which was operating on the Union Pacific tracks, near the town of Ginipa, northeast of Uvalde, police said.
A total of 15 people were found on two different train cars, Union Pacific reported. Twelve people were in a transit container, a type of shipping container made for cargo transportation. Two of them died, four were airlifted to San Antonio and six were taken to local hospitals, the railway said.
University Hospital San Antonio says they have received two adults, one in critical condition and one in critical condition.
Three more people were found in a hopper car used to transport loose bulk materials such as coal or grain.
“We are heartbroken to learn of yet another tragic incident involving migrants making the perilous journey.” Interior Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a tweet Friday night.
In another tweet Mayorkas thanked the Border Patrol agents who responded to the incident and the HSI agents who are supporting the investigation in Uvalde.
In a statement, Union Pacific said it was “deeply saddened by this incident and the tragedies at the border.”
“We take the safety of all individuals seriously and work tirelessly with law enforcement partners to detect illegal items and people riding on or inside our rail cars.”
In past years, immigrants They have taken high-risk routes to avoid detection and enter the United States. Immigrant rights advocates have blamed the rise in deaths at the border on policies that have made it more difficult for immigrants to seek asylum in the United States. According to an earlier report by CNN.
It was 2022 Year of death so far According to the Department of Homeland Security, 748 people have died at the border for migrants crossing the US-Mexico border.
Friday’s discovery follows a June 2022 incident 53 migrants died After being packed into a tractor-trailer and abandoned on the outskirts of San Antonio.
