Truck X-Ray Nabs 513 Migrants

People wedged into two trucks suffered dehydration, lack of air
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted May 18, 2011 12:04 PM CDT
X-Ray Scanner at Mexico Checkpoint Spots 513 Migrants Inside Trucks
Migrants from Latin America and Asia leave a truck that was heading to the US after being detected by X-ray equipment.   (AP Photo/Chiapas State Attorney General)

Mexican police saw something shocking when they aimed their X-ray scanners at a pair of tractor trailers at a checkpoint in Chiapas. The trucks were jammed full of 513 illegal migrants, many of them suffering from dehydration, the AP reports. Though air holes had been cut in the top of the trucks, the migrants said they felt suffocated as well. “We were suffering,” one said. “It was very hot, and we were clinging to the ropes.”

The migrants hailed from throughout South America, Central America, and even Asia, and were bound for the US. Some said they were charged around $7,000 for the trip. Mexican authorities say it was their largest migrant smuggling bust in years. The type of scanner that spotted the migrants was, interestingly enough, similar to the devices so reviled by airline passengers, the New York Times notes. (More illegal immigrants stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X