Texas trailer smuggling death toll rises to 53

San Antonio: The death toll after an abandoned tractor-trailer was found continued to grow, reaching 53 people in what officials are calling likely the deadliest smuggling incident in US history.  

Two more people died Wednesday as the death toll slowly climbed since the discovery of 46 bodies Monday. 

According to officials, a 45-year-old man has been arrested near the scene after he was found hiding in a bush.

The head of Mexico's National Migration Institute Francisco Garduno said on Wednesday that he "tried to pass himself off as one of the survivors" when he was detained in San Antonio.

The American truck driver, along with another US citizen and two other men, remained in custody as the investigation continued into the tragedy that killed 53 people. 

One of the suspects has been charged with a single count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, while the other one has been charged with one count of alien smuggling resulting in death.

If guilty, both face life sentences in prison and the death penalty.

The truck was found abandoned on Monday— carrying migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador—on the outskirts of San Antonio.

The majority of the dead were male, but 13 were women. A further 11 people, including children, remain in hospital.

As per officials, the temperature in the area that day was recorded at 103F (39.4C) and they found no water supplies or signs of working air conditioning inside the cargo trailer.

However, a preliminary hearing is expected to take place on Friday.

According to a source at Mexico's migration institute, the migrants are likely to have crossed the border in smaller groups before being held in a safe house in Texas, and then placed in the lorry to be moved further into the US.