Federal Agents Investigate Six Deaths From Heat Stroke in Laredo, Texas Shipping Container

Federal agents are investigating the deaths of six people thought to be immigrants found inside a shipping container at a Union Pacific rail yard near the border with Mexico in Laredo, Texas on Sunday as a "potential human smuggling event."

A Union Pacific employee found the bodies of six people inside a shipping container Sunday afternoon, said Jose Baeza, the Laredo Police Department public information officer.

ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

Dr. Corinne Stern, the Webb County medical examiner, is conducting autopsies and completed one for a 29-year-old Mexican woman who died of hyperthermia, or heat stroke.

Stern said, "I’ve ruled that an accidental death," and estimated it took up to eight hours for the people to succumb to illness.

The medical examiner said she believes the others also died from heat stroke but could not rule on their cause of death until she completes their autopsies.

In Laredo, Texas, the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office identified two of the six people found dead inside a shipping container Sunday, and a seventh body was discovered along railroad tracks in southwest Bexar County on Monday, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.

The female victim was identified as a 29-year-old Mexican national, while one of the male victims was a 27-year-old from Honduras, and two other male victims were identified as Mexican nationals.

Associated Press

The Webb County Medical Examiner told ABC affiliate KGNS that one of the male victims is a 14-year-old boy.

Hyperthermia was determined to be the cause of death for five of the victims discovered in Laredo, and it is likely the cause of death for the entire group, though formal investigations remain pending.

Salazar said his office believes the train originated in Del Rio and had a door open to allow people to load in before the train split, with half going to Houston and half going to Laredo.

Homeland Security Investigations said in a statement that it is "actively investigating this case as a potential human smuggling event with assistance from the Laredo Police Department and Texas Rangers."

The medical examiner said she believes the “individuals originated from Mexico and Honduras,” and her office is working closely with the Mexican Consulate to facilitate communication with the families of the deceased.

Stern said she found identification cards and cellphones that indicate the deceased may be from Mexico and Honduras, and fingerprints were taken and shared with U.S. Border Patrol to help confirm their identities and nationalities through the Missing Alien Program.

Laredo Mayor Victor D. Treviño called the deaths “a reminder of the ongoing humanitarian challenges along the border and the need for solutions that prioritize both security and human life.”

The Associated Press reported that the discoveries took place a little more than a year after two guilty verdicts were reached in the 2022 migrant smuggling tragedy along Quintana Road, which left 53 people dead.