Inside a tractor-trailer pulled over in Texas: Loads of avocados and 88 immigrants

Nearly 90 undocumented immigrants were found inside the trailer of an 18-wheeler truck Tuesday night in south Texas, less than 50 miles from the border with Mexico, authorities said.

The immigrants, two of whom were children, were found "packed like sardines" inside the refrigerated trailer, said Frank Torres, emergency medical services manager for Willacy County. It was also carrying several loads of avocados.

Officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety pulled over the truck on Highway 77 near the town of Raymondville, Texas, according to media reports.

Torres said Willacy County's emergency services division received a call about 9 p.m. Tuesday about a child who was in distress. Initial reports indicated that as many as 30 people were inside the trailer, but that number grew to 88, Torres said.

Police had tailed the truck from the border town of Donna, a few miles north of the Rio Grande, after getting reports that it might be carrying immigrants, Torres said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear who the truck driver was or whether that person would face any charges. It also is unclear which company owned the truck. All have been taken into the custody of immigration officials, Torres said.

Nina Pruneda, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's regional office in San Antonio, confirmed that the agency is investigating "human smuggling involving close to 90 illegal aliens discovered inside a tractor-trailer."

Although the trailer was refrigerated, two adults were suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration and were taken to hospitals, Torres said. It's unclear how long the people had been traveling.

"I think we were so lucky to get them at the time that we did . . . With the 90-degree temperatures that we're having down here in south Texas, they could've died in there," Torres said. "There could've been 88 bodies."

No other injuries were reported.

Last summer, a human smuggling operation led to the deaths of 10 undocumented immigrants in San Antonio. At least 39 people - some already dead and many on the verge - were found packed inside a sweltering trailer. Authorities said that the trailer's air conditioning was not working. Some were as young as 15.

The truck driver, James Matthew Bradley, pleaded guilty to one count of "conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death" and one count of "transporting aliens resulting in death." He was sentenced last month to life in prison.