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News & Current Events May 11, 2026 at 2:27 AM

6 people found dead inside cargo train boxcar in Texas

Posted by KimJongFunk

6 people found dead inside cargo train boxcar in Texas
NBC News
6 people found dead inside cargo train boxcar in Texas
The six were discovered near a Union Pacific rail yard Sunday afternoon. What caused their deaths wasn’t immediately clear.
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YcemeteryTreeY May 11, 2026 +1421
Sadly it was probably human smuggling. Smugglers dont care, they will abandon everyone if they think theyre going to get caught.
1421
Broad-Celebration- May 11, 2026 +604
They probably died of dehydration and or heatstroke. Whoever stuffed them in there didn't get them prepared for the journey.
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sparkle-brow May 11, 2026 +132
Yeah and the short article says 97 degree high there today, so in a closed boxcar? So sad. To be held up in a loading/unloading area too, whatever plan there was wasn’t thought out, they’d obvs be seen at some point. Horrible to imagine the obvs scenario of feeling so desperate.
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TheLastBaboon May 11, 2026 +61
Which doesn’t sound like human smuggling because as horrible as it sounds there is a something being sold. Unless these smugglers/coyotes/whatever didn’t care, they would have survived.
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Aggressive_Sky8492 May 11, 2026 +168
Presumably they already took the payment from the people to get them into the US, before transporting them
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doesntmatterhadtacos May 11, 2026 +37
God, how bad must their lives have been to want to risk your life just to be an undocumented immigrant in the US at this specific point in history?
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fake_empires May 11, 2026 +43
They don’t think about that or see it that way. To them, the US is a place where there are jobs and where gangs won’t extort you for what little you have Trump may cross some folks radar but the vast majority will take their chances in hope of saving their family from violence or poverty If your kid or family was being threatened by gangs, or barely had food to eat you wouldn’t think twice about
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FrostedMiniMemes May 11, 2026 +50
They're not selling the people. They're taking money from immigrants to "help" them enter the US. Money in hand, they usually just abandon these people halfway through so they don't get caught. Sometimes they live, sometimes this.
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IBeDumbAndSlow May 11, 2026 +30
I'm fairly certain Coyotes don't help people cross out of the goodness in their hearts
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LadyJane17 May 11, 2026 +47
They don't care.
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RiPFrozone May 11, 2026 -18
They do, it’s bad for business. You get people smuggled across alive, you get more people willing to pay in the future. Word gets out people consistently die, they’ll go to the smuggler with a better track record.
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Furt_III May 11, 2026 +16
Nobody is going to know who this smuggler is. Because if they did, they'd get watched.
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Outside-Bother-1294 May 11, 2026 +9
This is reductive American speak
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RiPFrozone May 11, 2026 -24
Business is business, you think it’s good for business if your customers die and your future customers would rather go elsewhere?
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Outside-Bother-1294 May 11, 2026 +33
You’re funny if you think poverty and violence stricken South American folks have a choice to go along and read reviews on the local cayote before they risk their lives for a better life. These people do not have a choice. 100 people could have died in their hands and the slim chance will still be worth it
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RiPFrozone May 11, 2026 -22
You are crazy if you think someone spending upwards of $6k-$10k to get smuggled across isn’t thinking about who to give that money to and their best chances of survival…that’s the entire point of why they are trying to leave…survive…
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jaunesolo81829 May 11, 2026 +10
There aren’t really reviews. Only word of mouth of WhatsApp. The main criteria is can they get them over the border.
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CupofLiberTea May 11, 2026 +4
Yea I’m sure the dead migrants left them a bad review on yelp they can read.
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MedicalDisscharge May 11, 2026 +24
Yeah idk why this guy jumped to smuggling (it absolutely happens) this could absolutely be a couple hitchhikers that were just trying to wait it out until the train stopped, the article says it was 100 degrees outside, so probably closer to 120-130 in a box car
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nickstatus May 11, 2026 +43
From my misspent youth as a hobo gutter punk, the opposite is likely true. For a number of reasons, a train can stop in the middle of nowhere for an extended period of time. Sometimes its just a couple of hours. Sometimes it can be days. In Texas, you just hope you brought enough water. You can always walk to the engine, they'they've got water. But it might get you arrested. Some of the drivers know what's up, and ive even had a BNSF guy bring us a bag of bottled water and snacks completely unprompted. But, could be that portion of the train was detached for another locomotive to pick up at a later date.  Man those were some wild times, before kids 'n shit.
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3mbersea May 11, 2026 +23
Damn I want to hear more hobo gutter punk stories
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TurnipGirlDesi May 11, 2026 +31
I don’t have a story but a warning for anyone who tries to hop a freight train: stay out of the coal. Do not ride in the coal. Too many freight hoppers have tried and died because they fall asleep in it and get dumped at a coal plant and get crushed by tons of coal.
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nickstatus May 11, 2026 +13
For real they flush that shit out with high pressure steam that will skin/cook you instantly if you survive the crushing
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Furt_III May 11, 2026 +14
My ex was one for a bit. She knew at least 3 people who died doing it (one got sucked under airing out their blanket), which is a pretty bad track record as far as hobbies go.
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blipsman May 11, 2026 +8
I just finished a podcast, City of the Rails, that covers the world of train hopping hobos
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MedicalDisscharge May 11, 2026 +5
r/vagabond might scratch your itch
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sparkle-brow May 11, 2026 +3
Yeah I don’t think these were train hoppers tho also quickly considered that. Love the graffiti on trains, the sounds of, the ppl jumping on them with their dogs to get a ride to a city etc. Most of those kids come from wealthy fams but I really still get it. Ok one train story: rode a train thru Mexico (this was in the 90’s tho), were passengers/seats in our car, but it was cargo and livestock, there were chickens and goats but like in the aisles too? Or I was delirious. Amazing food sold by train-rider and also affordable like $1. Freezing at night! Stops for hours at a time. Passed by so many random shacks/ small towns etc. absolutely beautiful and eye-opening to me bc of the adventure/imagination ++, and weirdly community oriented -seeming , as outsiders tho we only gringos on train; it also was fiercely independent, like we were lucky we had extra clothes in our bags to keep warm-ish overnight and someone sold food they made. No one talked to us, they prob thought we were stupid as shit lol. Which, we kinda were, super trusting and go-with-it. Or maybe bc guy I with was weirding them out. It was all ok/good for me. This feels really weird to add this in comments, 6 ppl died prob trying to escape. Just wanted to join in on the fantasy about trains.
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Objective_Truck_379 May 11, 2026 +1
Follow r/vegabond , good sub
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IBeDumbAndSlow May 11, 2026 +33
Because there were 6 of them. If they were able to get in on their own I'm sure they could have got out.
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Sad-Society-57 May 11, 2026 +25
Boxcar doors will slam themselves shut when they get yanked by the engine. Riders will see an open car, hop in, and get locked in. It happens pretty often, unfortunately. 
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Historical_Lab8619 May 11, 2026 +26
I live in Germany, and even here, we see cases where people from different countries end up being brought in through human smuggling networks. Unfortunately, in some situations, when smugglers feel there is a risk of getting caught by the police, they simply abandon the people they are transporting and disappear. In the end, those individuals are left in extremely vulnerable conditions and often end up at the mercy of the authorities.
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KimJongFunk May 11, 2026 +244
Article text: > Six people were found dead in a cargo train boxcar near a Laredo, Texas, rail yard Sunday, officials said.  > Police responded after a Union Pacific employee called to report a “trailer box car with the discovery of multiple casualties in the car” around 3 p.m. local time, police said.  > The ages of the victims and the origin of the train were not immediately released. Jose Baeza, an investigator with the Laredo Police Department, said those questions are “at the crux of the ongoing fluid investigation.” > The Webb County medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, police said. Baeza said the rail yard is miles long.  > “Imagine a loading dock at a seaport, but for trains,” he said in a phone interview. “This is where they load and unload a lot of rail cars.”  > A Union Pacific spokesperson said in a statement that the company is “saddened by this incident” and is “working closely with law enforcement to investigate. > Laredo, which borders Mexico, has one of Texas’s largest ports of entry facilitating commercial trade. As of 2024, Port Laredo accounted for 62% of the state’s land port trade, valued at nearly $340 billion, according to data collected by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.  > Temperatures in Laredo on Sunday hit a high of 97 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
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lormightymike May 11, 2026 +219
Reminds me of the beginning of Season 2 of the Wire when they found 13 dead women in the shipping container.
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sparkle-brow May 11, 2026 +28
There’s a movie re crossing border illegally, “The Girl” (2012), I’d rec the movie to anyone who feels empathy or even curiosity about this article/ events. I ran across it on tubi/Roku/Pluto free one night and watched, filmed in Nuevo Laredo (right across border from Laredo where this happened) and Oaxaca mountains, and it was surprisingly impactful.
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ITSOVERGUYS88 May 11, 2026 +76
I never looked at shipping docks the same after that season. And shipping containers in general I suppose. Crooked longshoreman also.
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IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES May 11, 2026 +23
RIP James Ransone Ziggy, a legend of the docks
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EggoSlayer May 11, 2026 +8
GOD DAMMIT ZIGGY DON'T GET YOUR P**** OUT. I actually just got through that season. I feel like people have mixed feelings about it with the shift to the docks but I adore that season.
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AnomalousX12 May 11, 2026 +1
Aw man what the f*** :( I hadn't heard about his death. His story hits a lot like Chester Bennington's.
1
teachthisdognewtrick May 11, 2026 +20
It used to be a point of pride among Baltimore longshoremen that nobody pocketed more cargo than they did.
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ClareTootheLuce May 11, 2026 +1
When I worked on the docks there was a big sign that said “Pilferage is grounds for immediate termination” I stole it.
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Chafing_Chaffinches May 11, 2026 +11
I’m not sure which came first but there was a terrible (and real) incident where 39 people died in the back of a lorry being smuggled into the UK. Horrific. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-55765213?app-referrer=deep-link
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Mythran12 May 11, 2026 +117
“Imagine a loading dock at a seaport, but for trains,” he said in a phone interview. “This is where they load and unload a lot of rail cars.” Impossible.
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Ok-Confidence9649 May 11, 2026 +60
Thank goodness for that comparison. Everyone knows what seaport loading docks look like, but trains?! What even are those?!
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Mythran12 May 11, 2026 +11
Imagine planes and airports, actually nvm you wouldn't understand
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the_biting_cyborg May 11, 2026 +14
What a terrible way to go
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thatgirl25_ May 11, 2026 +130
How strange and tragic is the reality that we currently. That people need to risk their lives and flee to other lands to feel safer. And the only thing separating us from this horrific ending is geographical luck. First world nations existing on the exploitation of the second and third world will not last.
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the_grand_apartment May 11, 2026 +20
Fleeing to the *wealthiest country on earth* only to die "like a dog". Sickening.
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Upper_Mirror4043 May 11, 2026 -215
How is it luck? My ancestors built this country. We somehow don’t deserve it?
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tommy946 May 11, 2026 +98
Wtf did you do other than be born? It's nothing other than luck lmao
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j-sadmachine May 11, 2026 +141
It’s luck for you. What did you do to deserve to be born where you are? Nothing. That’s the ‘luck’ part
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151Ways May 11, 2026 -134
That isn't luck at all. Every step of the way is intentional.
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veggeble May 11, 2026 +105
Then why doesn’t everyone just choose to be born to wealthy parents?
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GoarSpewerofSecrets May 11, 2026 -66
F*** em. Either build your better world or participate in. There is no fair or equal start.
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TakenInChains May 11, 2026 +38
so you understand the concept of starting farther back in life and yet you seem to believe in the bootstraps thing. interesting.
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GoarSpewerofSecrets May 11, 2026 -51
Bootstraps nothing. You play the hand you're dealt and don't feel guilty about it.
-51
bradicality May 11, 2026 +14
The mind of a child is a wonder
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Lirael_Gold May 11, 2026 +4
I can't tell if you're advocating *for* illegal immigrants or not
4
Parepinzero May 11, 2026 +45
Wow, you chose to be born here? That's amazing!
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EndPsychological890 May 11, 2026 +10
Not by you, maybe by your parents. Their intention is your luck. You’re owed nothing.
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Joranthalus May 11, 2026 +40
Did you forget a /s. Or are you legit that stupid?
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Aggressive_Sky8492 May 11, 2026 +38
You were born to your ancestors in your country (rather than to other people on a different country) by pure luck
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weakek May 11, 2026 +33
And it took much skill and talent to choose your ancestors right? Definition of white privilege to believe they were destined or do anything special to be where they are. It’s luck pure and simple.
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fireeight May 11, 2026 +43
Bro, your ancestors *stole* this country.
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TiaxRulesAll2024 May 11, 2026 +17
It’s luck that they are your ancestors. How can you be so obtuse?
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Remixxx5 May 11, 2026 +60
Okay if you want to go the ancestor route, your ancestors stole this land 🤷
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platasnatch May 11, 2026 +7
Bet they're feeling pretty unlucky now
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Make_It_Rain_69 May 11, 2026 -54
no they didnt steal all of it they bought most of it lmao
-54
commonsense2010 May 11, 2026 +27
By massacring the natives? Wow…
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Make_It_Rain_69 May 11, 2026 -29
yes they massacred the natives they didnt buy the land from natives they bought from France, Russia, Denmark, and Mexico. Those countries stole the land America stole land too but also purchased a lot of it from other countries
-29
TakenInChains May 11, 2026 +14
they stole most of it
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Make_It_Rain_69 May 11, 2026 -25
if thats what you believe then I advise you to read a text book
-25
TakenInChains May 11, 2026 +17
textbooks aren't usually written by the indigenous people of a land, they're written by the ancestors of colonizers. why would I read a standardized textbook when our school systems currently can't even teach kids to read?
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bensonprp May 11, 2026 +10
By making them an offer they couldn't refuse.
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Make_It_Rain_69 May 11, 2026 -7
who an offer? They didnt buy from Natives
-7
AnewTest May 11, 2026 +13
No, they just killed the natives because they didn't consider them human beings.
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notomatostoday May 11, 2026 +7
Do we deserve what, a decent life? Sure, but not anymore than anybody else does. What contribution do you claim your ancestors made, anyway?
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shazmosushi-- May 11, 2026 +2
The strongest argument is "we are a nation of laws". They'll always be people advocating open borders and zero immigration enforcement but that's not the law of the land.
2
OldMaidLibrarian May 11, 2026 +2
And they don't, just because they weren't born here? Strictly speaking, the only "real" Americans were/are the indigenous natives; everyone else were the immigrants. E pluribus unum--out of many, one. It's not so much as melting pot as a stew, where each ingredient contributes by adding its own qualities, yet still remains distinct in the final dish. (I say this as someone who not only had two ancestors on the Mayflower, but--according to family legend--had others who were waiting on the shore.)
2
Mikethebest78 May 11, 2026 +7
What an awful situation. I have horrible feeling that the current political climate being what it is we are only going to see more circumstances like this.
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TheNeecholas May 11, 2026 +8
We are in hell already
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unKnownExperiencer_ May 11, 2026 -9
*cranks AC*
-9
Fragrant-Fix9642 May 11, 2026 -12
There is a CHANCE this could be six crust punks who all od'.
-12
sparkle-brow May 11, 2026 +1
Love your sadly ironic idealism but really doubt.
1
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