A Wal Mart employee in San Antonio called police after reportedly encountering a man inside of a tractor trailer asking for water.  When police arrived on scene for a welfare check, they found a disturbing scene.  According to the Ark-La Tex Homepage, 29 units in total would be called to the scene when the officers discovered the trailer was packed with people in desperate need.

8 people were dead, and 30 were injured.  17 of those are critical condition, and 13 are in serious condition.  Officials declared it a "mass casualty event" as the air conditioning failed in the trailer, temperatures skyrocketed above 100 degrees.  Prolonged temperatures that high, and little to no ventilation are a deadly combination.  According to San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood;

With heat strokes or heat injuries, a lot of them are going to have some irreversible brain damage."

Authorities are still looking for leads, but are not sure how long the trailer was there or even where it came from.  They do know that if they had been discovered any later, all 38 would have been dead.

The driver has been arrested, and an investigation looks to discover who else is involved.  The fate of the survivors will be determined by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, once they are released from treatment.  The driver and anyone else involved will be facing state and federal charges.

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