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Nine found dead in tractor-trailer parked outside Texas Walmart

By Karen Butler

July 23 (UPI) -- At least nine were found dead in a tractor-trailer and another 30 were taken to hospitals when authorities were called to the parking lot of a Texas Walmart early Sunday.

A store employee phoned police and asked them to do a welfare check after a man who was in the large vehicle asked the worker for water.

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"The driver and whoever else we find is involved in this will be facing state and federal charges," San Antonio Police Chief William McManus told CNN.

The air conditioner in the trailer apparently was not working.

Seventeen of those rescued are listed in critical condition, while 13 others are in serious condition. Once the people are treated for their injuries, they are expected to be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The driver of the tractor-trailer -- who has not been identified to the public yet -- was arrested and police are searching the area with helicopters to find several people who ran into the woods.

"The truck was loaded with people," The New York Times quoted fire chief Charles Hood as saying. He added that many of those inside the sweltering cabin suffered from heat stroke and dehydration.

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"We're looking at a human trafficking crime here this evening," McManus said.

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