Human Smuggling Deaths Continue to Mount in Texas After Fatal Crash

Four people have died in what authorities have called a human smuggling incident in south Texas, just days after dozens of migrants were found dead in a tractor-trailer.

On Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety posted on social media that four people, described by the department as "immigrants," had been killed in a crash in Encinal, Texas.

The department added that law enforcement had "suspected the driver of human smuggling" and was trying to elude authorities at the time of the crash. Three people were also critically injured in the wreck, authorities said.

Thursday's deadly crash comes after another deadly human smuggling-related incident near San Antonio on Monday. Fifty-three migrants have now died as a result, according to local news station WBNS.

According to the Associated Press, authorities made the gruesome discovery after a city worker who came upon the truck heard someone calling out for help. Inside the truck, which was sitting on a back road, were the bodies of migrants from Mexico and Central America hoping to make it to the U.S.

One official told the AP that the truck had crossed a border inspection checkpoint at Laredo, Texas prior to the discovery of the bodies.

Originally, authorities in San Antonio said 46 immigrants had died while 16 others, including four children, were taken to the hospital for heat stroke and heat exhaustion. On Tuesday, though, Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard upped the number of fatalities to 50, which was increased to 53 on Thursday.

A Homeland Security official told the AP that Monday's incident was the deadliest human smuggling attempt in the United States.

Four men have been arrested and now face federal charges in connection to Monday's deadly incident near San Antonio, according to ABC News.

In an appearance on Fox News Thursday, Lieutenant Chris Olivarez with the Texas Department of Public Safety said the federal government is at fault for the situation due to their lack of help.

"Well, this is another example, a clear example, of what the state of Texas is having to do to take on this responsibility to secure the border because the federal government fails to secure the border," he said.

He also went on to suggest that instances like Thursday's deadly crash are not an uncommon occurrence in Texas.

"We're seeing an increase in human smuggling events across the southern border where these human smugglers are placing these immigrants in dangerous situations by smuggling them in commercial vehicles and trailers and wooden crates and the trunks of cars," he said.

Following word of the deaths Monday, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott placed blame on President Joe Biden and his administration.

"At least 42 People Found Dead Inside Truck Carrying Migrants in Texas. These deaths are on Biden. They are the result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law," he posted on Twitter.

Newsweek reached out to the Texas Department of Public Safety for further comment.