Border Patrol agents rescue 33 migrants found in U-Haul in Texas

VAN HORN, Texas — U.S. Border Patrol agents rescued 33 migrants who were locked in a U-Haul truck and suffering from searing temperatures in southern Texas, authorities said.

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In a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release on Tuesday, agents acted on a tip and found the people near a McDonald’s restaurant in Van Horn, located southeast of El Paso. Agents discovered 33 people locked into the cargo space of the box truck with no fresh air as the temperatures hovered near 100 degrees, KVIA reported.

Officials said all of the people inside the U-Haul were suffering from various heat-related illnesses., and some were treated for simple dehydration, KVIA reported.

According to the CBP news release, the migrants “were close to perishing due to excessive heat.”

Twelve people were taken to area hospitals for observation, according to the CBP news release. All of the migrants recovered from the heat-related issues.

“Had our heroic agents not been able to free these trapped undocumented migrants, we could have seen 33 miserable deaths in this event,” Big Bend Sector Chief Patrol Agent Sean L. McGoffin said in a statement. “Smugglers do not care what type of misery they put people through as they take their money.”