In June, more than 50 migrants died in Texas, USA, after being trapped in a hot trailer. Last year, a record number of people died on the US-Mexico border.
A large number of migrants have been saved from suffocation near Acayucan in southern Mexico. Human smugglers on their way to the US border had crammed a truck trailer full of migrants, but abandoned it near a toll booth on Wednesday.
The authorities estimated that the smugglers transporting the group of migrants were inexperienced and it came as a surprise to them that the cars were being searched at the toll station. Because of this, they left the people in a suffocatingly hot closed wagon.
When the people in the car realized that they were dying from the heat and about to suffocate, they began to punch holes in the roof of the wagon. The people who were captives in the wagon attracted the attention of people nearby, including the staff of the gas station.
The call to the emergency number came after nine on Wednesday evening. Paramedic Cristóbal Cisneros of Valencia many jumped off the wagon and ran away. Some people got leg injuries when they jumped off the trailer.
– We were told that there were almost 400 migrants in the trailer. When they felt they were suffocating, they hit the ceiling and most of them jumped out, paramedic Valencia told the Reuters news agency.
– Most of the injuries we treated were broken knees and ankles. One person had to be taken to the hospital because he was unconscious, he continues.
The Mexican authorities who arrived at the scene assisted 94 people. However, many had already managed to escape from the place and some people were found hiding in the bushes.
Among those rescued were people from Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and El Salvador, as well as two people from India and one from Nepal. Some of the people in the trailer were children.
People strive for better conditions, defying their lives
According to UNHCR, people are driven by the fear of widespread violence, deep-rooted social inequality and the effects of climate change.
In order to get to better conditions, people are ready to rely on services offered by smugglers and even life-threatening methods.
The case that was revealed in Mexico on Wednesday evening is the latest example of migrants who are at risk of suffocation at the hands of people smugglers.
In June, the bodies of 53 people were found in an abandoned trailer in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The people smugglers had abandoned the wagon, closed in the scorching heat, with no air conditioning. 16 people were found alive.
Two Texas men are accused of causing the death of migrants and face life in prison or even the death penalty. The case is of the Texas Tribune (you are moving to another service) according to the information received from the authorities, the case that claimed the lives of most migrants in the USA.
Last year, a record number of people died on the US-Mexico border
There are also many other dangers lurking for the migrants heading north. People have died, for example, due to getting lost in the desert and falling from the border fence between Mexico and the United States.
In the Mexican state of Veracruz, where Acayucan is located, there have been reports of violence against migrants and a recent increase in kidnappings, says UNHCR (you switch to another service). The number of migrants coming from and through Mexico to the United States has increased again.