6 people found dead in boxcar in Texas border town, police say

Texas police said they’re investigating the death of six people found in a boxcar by a Union Pacific employee at a rail yard on Sunday.

Police said they responded to a call of “multiple casualties” at about 3 p.m. A Webb County medical examiner said the dead included one woman and five men.

One of the other dead persons appears to be a teenager. Officials said they believe they are all from Mexico and Honduras.

The examiner identified the female victim as a Mexican national and one of the men as a Honduran national.

The official noted that temperatures had reached up to 105 degrees when the bodies were found.

“Following initial examinations, it has been determined that the female victim succumbed to hyperthermia,” reads the statement from the medical examiner. “While formal examinations for the remaining five individuals are still pending, it is highly probable that hyperthermia was the cause of death for the entire group.”

One of the other dead persons appears to be a teenager. Officials said they believe they are all from Mexico and Honduras.

Laredo Police investigator Jose Baeza said determining the origin of the train was “at the crux” of the ongoing investigation, which he described as fluid.

“Imagine a loading dock at a seaport, but for trains,” Baeza said to NBC News in a phone interview. “This is where they load and unload a lot of rail cars.”

A spokesperson for Union Pacific said the company was cooperating with the investigation and was “saddened” by the incident.

RELATED: At least 46 illegal aliens found dead in a trailer in San Antonio, and death toll may climb higher

The International Organization for Migration reported that the lowest figure of migrant deaths in the Americas had been lodged for 2025, likely because of the crackdown on illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

They said about 414 migrants died in the Americas in 2025. Total deaths declined about 68% in 2025 from those in 2024, which coincides with President Donald Trump getting into office.

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