Six Found Dead Inside Train Boxcar Near Laredo as Investigation Continues

Authorities in South Texas are on high alert after six people were found dead inside a Union Pacific train boxcar near the U.S.-Mexico border.

On May 10 at about 3 a.m., investigators said a Union Pacific employee responsible for loading and unloading rail cars and for conducting routine checks discovered the bodies and alerted authorities.

First responders arrived at the scene and confirmed all six people inside the boxcar were dead, according to reports. Authorities have not released the victims' identities, ages or nationalities, and did not immediately say where the train originated or where it was headed.

Laredo police investigator Joe Baeza said it was too early in the investigation to release additional details. He said autopsies will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

"Union Pacific is saddened by this incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate," Union Pacific spokesman Daryl Bjoraas said in a statement.

The discovery comes after several deadly incidents in recent years involving people found inside train cars or trucks near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The worst one of them all came in 2022, when 53 people were found dead inside a tractor-trailer near San Antonio, including 47 adults and six children, in what became one of the deadliest migrant smuggling cases in U.S. history.

Emergency crews transported more than a dozen survivors to local hospitals, where they were treated for heat-related illnesses, including heat exhaustion and heatstroke. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said at the time the trailer had no working air conditioning or water, and authorities were unable to determine how long the migrants had been trapped before they were discovered.

One survivor told The Associated Press that the group had reached Laredo before being loaded into the trailer for what was supposed to be a six-hour journey to Houston, but the truck never made it past San Antonio.

A similar tragedy was narrowly avoided in March when Mexican authorities discovered 229 migrants packed inside a truck in the state of Veracruz after people trapped inside began calling for help.

Officials have not confirmed whether the six people found in the boxcar were migrants attempting to enter the United States through Laredo, one of the busiest border crossings in South Texas.

The victims' cellphones were turned over to investigators for possible data that could help identify them, and local authorities are communicating with consulates to notify relatives once identifications are confirmed, the medical examiner said.