US opens criminal investigation after 51 migrants found dead in Texas lorry trailer

President Joe Biden blames tragedy on 'criminal' professional drug smugglers

Andrei Renteria holds his courtroom sketch, where Homero Zamorano Jr, the suspected driver of a lorry packed with dozens of migrants who died in blazing heat during a Texas smuggling attempt, attends a court hearing in San Antonio. Reuters

Yolanda Olivares is comforted by a relative during a Mass for the migrants who died in the lorry. Ms Olivares believes her sons Jair, 19, Yovani, 16, and her nephew Misael, 16, are among the migrants who died in the stifling lorry. Reuters

People gather for a special Mass for the migrants in San Antonio. Reuters

A relative of Wilmer Tulul, 14, who was among the migrants who died in the lorry, at the family's home in Tzucubal village in Guatemala. AFP

Another relative of Wilmer cries at his home in Guatemala. AFP

Wilmer, seen here on the mobile phone of a relative, was not the only teenager to die in the back of the lorry. Pascual Melvin Guachiac and his cousin Wilmer, both 13, also lost their lives after they suffocated in the stifling heat. AFP

Alfonso holds a picture of Pascual. Reuters

A memorial set up for the migrants in San Antonio. Reuters

Karen Caballero, mother of half-siblings Fernando Jose Redondo and Alejandro Miguel Andino, reacts during an interview after learning that her sons had died in the back of the lorry. Reuters

Christine and Michael Ybarra embrace at the scene where dozens of people were found dead inside a lorry in San Antonio, Texas. Reuters

At least 50 people believed to be migrant workers were found dead inside the vehicle. More than a dozen victims were found alive, suffering from heat stroke, and were taken to local hospitals. Getty Images / AFP

Police and officials man a roadblock near a lorry on the side of the road leading to the location where about 50 migrants were reportedly found dead. EPA

At least 16 people were found alive. EPA

Law enforcement officers work at the deadly scene in San Antonio. Reuters

All the victims are believed to be migrants who were trying to enter the US. Reuters

Police guard the scene where dozens of people were found dead. AP

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus addresses members of the media at the scene. Reuters

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg addresses the media at the scene where people were found dead inside a lorry. Reuters

San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood addresses members of the media. Reuters

Community members wait on the side of the road at the scene. Reuters

A woman visits at the scene where the people were found. Reuters

Rose Perez holds on to her mother, Scarlet Chavez, on the edges of the grim scene. Reuters

Law enforcement officers at the deadly scene. Reuters

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that at least 22 Mexicans are among the roughly 50 migrants who were found. EPA

Local priests from the San Antonio Archdiocese come to the deadly scene in San Antonio, Texas. AFP

The lorry was abandoned on the roadside on the outskirts of San Antonio. AFP

Sixteen people were taken to hospital for treatment. AFP

Local priests from the San Antonio Archdiocese stand near the scene. AFP

Onlookers gather at the scene. Reuters

Police patrol the area where the migrants were found. Reuters

The US opened a federal criminal investigation after 51 migrants died in the back of a lorry in Texas, the Department of Homeland Security announced.

A Bexar County official reported that “39 men and 12 women” died in the sweltering heat of the abandoned trailer after it was discovered on a road in her district. It was the deadliest single incident involving migrants along the southern border in memory.

President Joe Biden blamed “criminal” professional drug smugglers for the tragedy.

“This incident underscores the need to go after the multibillion-dollar criminal smuggling industry preying on migrants and leading to far too many innocent deaths,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Federal law enforcement agents on Tuesday arrested two men at an address linked to the trailer's registration, court documents showed.

Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, both Mexican nationals whose US tourist visas had expired, were illegally in possession of firearms, the documents alleged.

A third person, suspected of being the driver of the lorry and trailer, was arrested nearby while “very high on meth,” said the local daily San Antonio Express-News, quoting a law enforcement officer.

Twenty-seven of those who died are believed to be of Mexican descent, said Rubén Minutti, the Mexico consul general in San Antonio.

He said some of the survivors were in critical condition with brain damage, internal bleeding and other injuries.

Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador called it a “tremendous misfortune”.

Guatemala's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it had confirmed two of the people in hospital were Guatemalan.

Many of the dead were found without identification documents, complicating the process of identifying them. One had a stolen ID.

Dozens of people held a vigil for the victims on Tuesday night, expressing anger at the dangerous trek that many migrants make each year in search for a life in the US.

“If we had a better way of allowing people to venture safely — and I need to change that — if we had a better way for brown and black people to enter safely, they wouldn’t go through these desperate measures,” said Debbie Ponce, who attended the vigil.

Organiser Carolina Canizales said that for many at the vigil the tragedy was deeply personal.

“Migrants matter. And their lives matter,” she said.

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott blamed the incident on Mr Biden.

“These deaths are on Biden. They are a result of his deadly open border policies,” Mr Abbott said.

Mr Biden said an anti-smuggling campaign he had launched had so far arrested 2,400 people in recent months.

“Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report