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At least 53 people died last month after being found in an abandoned truck in San Antonio, Texas.
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A survivor told the AP the driver put powdered chicken stock in the truck to shed sniffer dogs.
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Yenifer Yulisa Cardona Tomás said she survived because she was closer to the door of the truck.
The migrant truck driver from San Antonio put powdered chicken broth on the floor to drop off the dogs at security checkpoints, one survivor says. the Associated Press on Tuesday.
At least 40 men and 13 women, believed to be migrants entering the US from Mexico, died after being found near and in an overheated truck in a remote area in San Antonio, Texas, on June 27.
Yenifer Yulisa Cardona Tomás, a 20-year-old woman from Guatemala City, told the AP that she was among a group of people who boarded the 18-wheeler truck on the Texas side of the border with Mexico.
She told the AP that the driver confiscated everyone’s cell phones before they got in, and also covered the floor of the truck with powdered chicken broth to throw off any dogs at security checkpoints.
Cardona Tomás said it was already sweltering hot when they got into the truck and that she and a friend decided to sit closer to the door where it would be cooler.
The overcrowding and heat worsened as the truck continued its journey, making additional stops to pick up more migrants, she said.
“People were screaming, some were crying. Mostly women were shouting to stop and open the doors because it was hot, they couldn’t breathe,” she told AP.
“People asked for water, some ran out, others were carrying some,” she said.
Cardona Tomás said there was no way to keep track of time and she eventually passed out.
The 20-year-old made it out alive but is currently being treated at the Metropolitan Methodist Hospital in San Antonio. Her boyfriend also survived, she said.
The man suspected of driving the truck, identified as 45-year-old Homero Zamorano Jr., was arrested and charged with alien smuggling that resulted in death, the Justice Department said. said.
Another man, who was in contact with Zamorano at the time, was also charged in connection with the incident.
Surveillance cameras before Zamorano captured driving the truck through a security checkpoint without problems earlier on June 27, officials said.
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