美国国家公共电台 NPR--Dozens of people are found dead inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio

Dozens of people are found dead inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio

Transcript¹

Local police in Texas say 16 people were found alive and transported to area hospitals, including 12 adults and four children. Authorities believe they were victims of human smuggling².

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We begin with news out of Texas. At least 46 people have been found dead after being trapped in a tractor trailer in San Antonio.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

There was some hope, though. Police say 16 others, including children, were found alive and taken to area hospitals.

MARTIN: Texas Public Radio's Joey Palacios is with us now. Joey, good morning.

JOEY PALACIOS, BYLINE³: Good morning, Rachel.

MARTIN: You were at the scene, I understand, where authorities found this truck. Describe what you saw.

PALACIOS: So Quintana Road is a very unassuming road. Most people really never drive down it. But today there was a flurry of police vehicles. You could see the tractor trailer from where the media and the public was able to stand as these vehicles - police vehicles - were surrounding it.

MARTIN: What do we know at this point?

PALACIOS: There's still a lot of unanswered questions, like where the truck came from and where it was heading. We're still trying to learn more about who these victims were and their circumstances. We know three people have been arrested, but we don't know their connection to what happened. All signs point to this tragedy being related to human smuggling. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood⁴ said the 12 adults and four children found alive in the truck were hot to the touch and suffered from heat exhaustion⁵.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHARLES HOOD: No signs of water in the vehicle. It was a refrigerated tractor trailer, but there was no visible working AC unit on that rig.

PALACIOS: And keep in mind, in San Antonio, we've been experiencing triple-digit temperatures in recent days.

MARTIN: How was law enforcement able to find this truck, find these people?

PALACIOS: San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said a worker at a nearby facility heard somebody crying for help.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WILLIAM MCMANUS: Came out to investigate, found a trailer with the doors partially⁶ opened, opened them up to take a look and found a number of deceased individuals inside.

PALACIOS: Now McManus says the incident is under federal jurisdiction⁷ with Homeland Security Investigations⁸.

MARTIN: This has happened before in Texas, hasn't it?

PALACIOS: Sadly, it has. In 2017, 10 migrants died in a similar fashion. That trailer was found in a Walmart parking lot here in San Antonio and contained potentially more than 100 people. But we don't know the exact number because some people fled. That trailer was unventilated and had no water as well. We've seen less tragic⁹ instances. Later that same year, another trailer with a dozen migrants was found in December in much cooler weather. All 12 were unharmed. And I'll say this happens a lot near San Antonio because of the geography here. It's close to the border. We're about 150 miles away. And Interstate 35, which goes from Mexico to Canada, passes through San Antonio, and it also connects with Interstate 10 here, which goes from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Fla. So for many smuggling operations, it's a straight shot from border to border and coast to coast.

MARTIN: And, I mean, it's just worth noting the politics of this, right? I mean, this happened in the state of Texas in an election year. No doubt it's going to become a political talking point.

PALACIOS: Right. So an hour after the news broke, Governor Greg Abbott retweeted the conservative Daily Wire online newspaper, blaming the incident on President Joe Biden's immigration policies. Meanwhile, his opponent, Beto O'Rourke, called for increased legal pathways to citizenship¹⁰ that don't incentivize these dangerous journeys. The League of United Latin American Citizens, one of the largest Latino civil rights organization in the country, called for responsible dialogue on immigration following this tragedy. Now, they say the only way forward from a tragedy like this is Democrats¹¹ and Republicans working together on immigration reform.

MARTIN: Texas Public Radio's Joey Palacios reporting from San Antonio. He is also co-host of the "Line In The Land" podcast. Joey, thank you.

PALACIOS: Thank you, Rachel.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

5 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

10 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》