PolitiFact: 911 audio not related to migrants in San Antonio truck
Viral Facebook post: This is the 911 call placed by the migrants trapped in the truck found in San Antonio.
PolitiFact's ruling: False
Here's why: Audio of a 911 call is being shared on Facebook incorrectly claiming it’s linked to the dozens of migrants found dead in a truck on June 27 in San Antonio Texas.
A Facebook user published the recording on June 28 with a caption in Spanish that translates to: "CALL FOR HELP RELEASED. The call for help from a migrant to 911 alerted officials over the abandoned group in the trailer,, minutes later authorities found them lifeless in San Antonio Texas United States."
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.
In the audio a man can be heard asking for help as he tells the operator that there are 80 people in a white tanker truck and that they cannot breath. The operator is heard as voices cry out in the background.
After searching the words "white tanker truck" PolitiFact found a video with the 911 call from the immigrants.
However, the call is not from the victims of the incident in San Antonio, Texas. The audio is from a recording published on YouTube by Noticias Telemundo on February 11, 2021. That reporting was about a group of immigrants who were trapped in a tanker truck.
In the video the timestamp of February 8, 2021 can be seen as a white tanker truck is captured passing along the road.
President Joe Biden said initial reports indicate that the incident was caused by smugglers or human traffickers and announced the beginning of a federal investigation.
Federal officials say they’ve arrested four men and charged one with human smuggling resulting in death; another faces a conspiracy charge and two others face "one count of possession of a weapon by an alien illegally in the U.S."
A press release from the Justice Department said one of the men was found at the scene of the crime where he acted as if he was one of the immigrants but was later identified as the driver of the truck by Border Patrol agents. Phone investigations linked the other three men to the incident and they were later arrested.
According to theJustice Department, San Antonio police arrived at the scene after receiving 911 calls from concerned citizens. On June 27 officials discovered 48 people dead at the scene, days after, the number jumped to 53 people.
Our ruling
A recording published on Facebook claims to show a 911 call placed by the migrants trapped in the truck found in San Antonio, Texas on June 27.
However, the recording is from an incident that occured in February 8, 2021 when 80 immigrants were trapped in a tanker truck.
The post wrongly identifies the incident.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, June 28, 2022
Youtube, La llamada de auxilio de migrantes encerrados en una pipa, February 11, 2021
Dallas Today, estamos adentro de una pipa... somos como 80": llamaron al 911 el lunes; no han sido hallados, February 10, 2021
News Channel 3, 'Help me holy God...' Officers searching for 18-wheeler possibly smuggling immigrants, February 9, 2021
NBC, One in custody in connection with suspected human smuggling incident, February 13, 2021
NBC, 'We have no oxygen': Chilling 911 call from trapped migrants prompts urgent search, February 11, 2021
KM YA, La escalofriante llamada al 911 de migrantes atrapados genera una búsqueda urgente, February 12, 2021
CNN, 4 people have been charged in the Texas semitruck smuggling operation that left 53 migrants dead, June 30, 2022
KHOU, 4 arrested, charged in connection with deadly tractor-trailer smuggling incident in San Antonio, June 30, 2022
Press Release from the Department of Justice, 53 Fatalities From Tractor Trailer Smuggling Incident – Charges Filed Against Four, June 29, 2022 ABC, 4 men charged after 53 migrants were found dead in trailer in San Antonio, DOJ says, June 29, 2022
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: PolitiFact: 911 audio not related to migrants in San Antonio truck
