Union Pacific Railroad station workers notified police Sunday afternoon after discovering the body inside the car. The case is under investigation.
LAREDO, Texas — A South Texas medical examiner believes the bodies of six people found inside a boxcar in Laredo, Texas, on Sunday may have died from heat stroke.
Police said authorities were working to identify the deceased, but only five men and one woman were confirmed to have been found. The Union Pacific freight car is located at a rail yard in Laredo, Texas, a city near the Mexican border.
Weber County Medical Examiner Dr. Corinne Stern is performing an autopsy on a 29-year-old Mexican woman who died of high fever or heat stroke. “I have ruled this was an accidental death,” she said. “I believe that the remaining people probably died of heat stroke, but their examinations have not been completed yet, so I will not make a ruling on the cause and manner of their deaths for the time being.”
Laredo police said they were notified by crews checking the car and responded to the scene with other first responders around 3:30 p.m. local time. However, no survivors were found.
An autopsy will be performed to help determine the cause and manner of death.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Texas Rangers are assisting Laredo police in the investigation.
Union Pacific said in a statement that it was “saddened by this incident and is working closely with law enforcement on the investigation.”
Temperatures reached more than 90 degrees Sunday afternoon, but it’s unclear whether the heat was a factor in their deaths.
AP and Kowu contributed to this report.
