Texas police hunt for tanker after disturbing 911 calls from people who say they’re trapped inside

Texas authorities are investigating after receiving 911 calls from a person who claimed to be trapped inside of a tanker truck and to be running out of air.

Multiple 911 calls regarding a possible disturbing human trafficking incident were made on Monday night to both the San Antonio Police Department and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.

In audio from the calls, which was first released by San Antonio news outlet KABB, a caller claims to have been trapped inside of a white tanker truck with approximately 80 other people en route to San Antonio, some of whom were “already dead.” The caller tells dispatchers that the people inside are running out of oxygen.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar tolk KABB, “It’s heartbreaking to hear because clearly behind the caller, in the background, you can hear others in the car, in the trailer and they’re also screaming for help in Spanish and saying that they’re out of air.”

KABB also points to surveillance video captured on I-35 before midnight on Monday that shows a white tanker and a black pickup.

“I bet a lot of money, that if the smugglers do encounter somebody in the back of that trailer that is very, very ill, as a result of the conditions they were exposed to or even dead. They’re not going to do the right thing, they’re going to dump a body or they’re going to abandon somebody at a hospital, maybe. They’re certainly not going to do the right thing and so we’re letting our deputies know to be on the lookout for anything,” Salazar said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Homeland Security anonymous tipline at (866) 347-2423.