Migrant found dead in train car in Texas, the second fatal incident in 2 days
By Andi Babineau and Rebekah Riess, CNN
A migrant was found dead in a train car in Texas over the weekend — the second fatal incident in as many days, according to a statement from Union Pacific.
“Our hearts are heavy with the news of another tragic loss of life in a Union Pacific train car,” a company spokesperson said in an email to CNN. “We are cooperating fully with law enforcement and immigration officials to review Saturday’s incident, which occurred near Eagle Pass, Texas, as well as Friday’s incident near Knippa, Texas.”
Union Pacific said border patrol agents found a dozen people in a boxcar Saturday after one of the individuals called 911. According to the statement, one of them died, three were hospitalized and eight were detained by the agents.
“Our commitment to safety and to guarding human life is central to who we are as a company and as people,” the spokesperson said. “These incidents stand as a grim reminder of why we make every effort to stop people from trespassing on our property and on our trains.”
On Friday, two migrants were found dead in a shipping container on a train that the authorities stopped east of Uvalde, Texas, according to local police.
In a news release Friday night, Uvalde police said they “received a 911 phone call from an unknown third-party caller advising there were numerous undocumented immigrants ‘suffocating’ inside of a train car.” US Border Patrol officers stopped the train, which was operating on Union Pacific tracks, near the town of Knippa, northeast of Uvalde, police said.
A total of 17 people were found on the train, including 15 men and two women, according to an official for Homeland Security Investigations. Union Pacific previously told CNN there were 15 people found in two different train cars. The railway reported that two of them died, four were airlifted to San Antonio, and six were taken to local hospitals.
Both incidents are under investigation.
In the past few years, migrants have taken increasingly risky paths to evade detection and enter the US. Immigrant rights advocates have attributed the rise in deaths at the border to policies that have made it more difficult for migrants to seek refuge in the US, according to CNN’s previous reporting.
2022 was the deadliest year so far for migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, with 748 people dying at the border, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The worst such incident came in June 2022 when 53 migrants died after being packed into a tractor-trailer and abandoned on the outskirts of San Antonio.
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CNN’s Zoe Sottile and Paradise Afshar contributed to this report.
