39 migrants saved from locked, flaming trailer following chase at Texas checkpoint
By: -----
Falfurrias, TX - Border Patrol agents and Texas state troopers rescued 39 migrants from a locked, burning tractor-trailer following a pursuit that began at an immigration checkpoint, federal authorities said.
The incident began on June 4 when a service canine alerted agents to a commercial tractor-trailer at the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint, located about 80 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Instead of stopping for a secondary inspection, the driver sped away from the station, initiating a multi-agency chase.
Personnel from U.S. Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) chased the fleeing vehicle along the highway until it abruptly caught fire, officials said.
As smoke and flames began to consume the vehicle, authorities moved quickly to arrest the driver and a passenger inside the cab. Agents and troopers then turned their attention to the locked cargo trailer, breaching the doors just before the vehicle became engulfed in flames. Inside, they found 39 individuals trapped in the smoke-filled interior.
All 39 migrants were successfully pulled to safety, and no fatalities were reported, according to officials.