‘A horrible way to die’: after deaths in Laredo, experts prepare for lethal summer heat at US-Mexico border

Buoys placed along the Rio Grande to prevent people from crossing the US-Mexico border, in Eagle Pass, Texas, on 19 February. Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images

As questions still swirl about the six people found dead inside a baking-hot railway car in Texas, immigration advocates warn that the US is about to enter the most dangerous season of the year for immigrants making the perilous journey over the southern border.

Early results shared by the Webb county medical examiner indicate that at least one of the six people found dead in the city of Laredo died from hyperthermia, which occurs when the body is overwhelmed by extreme heat. The same cause of death is likely true for the five others.