Nine immigrants die in sweltering Texas big-rig

UPDATE: Officials in San Antonio say a 10th person has died after being discovered in an unairconditioned tractor-trailer in a Walmart parking lot. About 20 others remain hospitalized in serious condition.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (8:30 a.m.): Nine people died in the 100-degree Texas heat Sunday after police discovered them crammed into a tractor-trailer linked to an immigrant-smuggling operation. A Walmart employee in San Antonio called police after noticing the truck in the store’s parking lot and seeing a disoriented person asking for water. Authorities found 39 people in the trailer. Eight had already died, while a ninth died in the hospital. Seventeen of the rescued people are receiving treatment for life-threatening injuries, authorities said. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said the victims were very hot to the touch, and were trapped in the trailer without water or air-conditioning. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan said more than 100 people may have been crammed into the truck at some point during the journey. Surveillance video showed cars arriving and picking up people from the truck before authorities arrived. Investigators gave no information about where the journey began, but some of the survivors said they came from Mexico. Authorities arrested the driver, 60-year-old Florida native James M. Bradley. “Even though they have the driver in custody, I can guarantee you there’s going to be many more people we’re looking for to prosecute,” Homan said. Guatemala’s foreign ministry said at least two of its citizens were in the truck. Mexico’s government released a statement Sunday expressing its condolences and calling for an “exhaustive investigation.”