At least 46 bodies were found inside of a semi-trailer in San Antonio on Monday (June 27), making for one of the deadliest recent incidents of human smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico border. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg spoke on the unfortunate tragedy on social media:

“Migrants seeking asylum should always be treated as a humanitarian crisis, but this evening we’re facing a horrific human tragedy. More than 40 hopeful lives were lost. I urge you to think compassionately, pray for the deceased, the ailing, and their families at this moment.”

According to officials, the truck was found near railroad tracks in a remote area just south of the city. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood stated in a news conference that said truck was designed to be “a refrigerated tractor-trailer,” yet did not have any working A/C unit. There was also no sign of water in the truck.

In addition to the deceased, 16 other individuals — consisting of 12 adults and four children — were taken to medical facilities for treatment. Hood revealed that those tended to were “hot to the touch” and “suffering from heat stroke, heat exhaustion.” Police Chief Bill McManus confirmed that three people were in custody, although he did not go into detail about their connections to the incident.

At the time of this report, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard stated that the Mexican consul were in route to provide additional aid. His latest Twitter post lists the number dead at 50, including 22 Mexicans, 7 Guatemalans, and 2 Hondurans, with others that are yet to be identified.

Yesterday’s catastrophe comes after a similar event back in 2017, where 10 migrants were found dead in a semi-trailer parked near a San Antonio Wal-Mart. The driver, James Matthew Bradley, Jr., was later sentenced to life in federal prison for transporting undocumented immigrants.