84 Migrants were discovered in a dump truck in Texas on Tuesday in what authorities are calling a human smuggling attempt.
There were no injuries reported in the incident on Interstate 35 in Cotulla.
A spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, known as the DPS, said on social media that the 84 people were from Mexico and Guatemala and were in the dump truck’s cargo area.
According to the DPS, the driver of Poteet, south of San Antonio, is charged with 84 counts of human smuggling.
Around 8 a.m., the truck was stopped for an inspection. People got out of the dump truck and ran into the brush during the stop, according to the DPS. It stated that 84 were discovered.
It was unclear whether the alleged driver had been charged formally.
The DPS did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the arrested person on Wednesday evening. The DPS statements did not specify where the truck came from or where it was going.
Cotulla is located approximately 70 miles northwest of the United States-Mexico border. The driver is accused of avoiding a checkpoint in Webb County, which is closer to the border, by taking a private ranch road.
The truck appeared to have an open top, allowing for airflow, but previous attempts at human smuggling have been fatal.
In June, 53 people were discovered dead or died later after the tractor-trailer they were riding in was discovered abandoned in San Antonio.
According to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, one of two men charged federally with human smuggling, in that case, told a confidential informant that an air conditioning unit in the truck had stopped working.
