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(MENDON, Mo.) — Four people were killed and dozens were injured Monday when an Amtrak train derailed after hitting a dump truck that was in an uncontrolled public crossing in Mendon, Missouri, according to Amtrak and officials.

Eight passenger cars and two locomotives derailed at about 12:42 p.m. local time, Amtrak said.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Justin Dunn initially said two of the train’s passengers were killed, along with someone who was in the dump truck.

On Tuesday, the highway patrol said a third train passenger died overnight, bringing the total number of deaths to four.

At least 150 people involved the crash were treated at 10 hospitals in the area for minor to serious injuries, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement, citing updated information from Amtrak and law enforcement.

NTSB investigators said Tuesday that the dump truck was transporting aggregate to contractors nearby for an Army Corps of Engineers project. The NTSB said the vehicle was crossing the track when the backside was hit by the train.

The agency said it was downloading the event recorders from the train and noted the train had two forward-facing cameras. The dump truck also had a data recorder that investigators are trying to examine, according to the NTSB.

“It was something that you never think is going to happen, but when it does happen, it’s far worse than anything you could have imagined,” Jason Drinkard, a passenger on the train, told ABC affiliate station KMBC in Kansas City, Missouri.

Drinkard, a high school teacher, said he was traveling with his wife and six students to Chicago for a conference, when the crash occurred. He described seeing the “carnage,” with injured passengers and crew unable to walk.

The train was en route from Los Angeles to Chicago with 275 passengers and 12 crew members on board at the time of the crash, Amtrak said. All the train occupants from the scene were evacuated, according to Dunn.

Officials at Hendrick Medical Center accepted seven patients from the scene, while officials at MU Health Care University Hospital/Columbia said its facility was treating 16 patients as of 10 p.m. ET Monday. Pershing Memorial Hospital received between 15 and 20 people from the accident.

Passenger Rob Nightingale, 58, told ABC News his train car tipped to the side and he climbed through a window to escape. He said he saw a little girl crying and her family trying to comfort her.

Some people were covered in blood, he added.

Aboard the train were two Boy Scout troops from Appleton, Wisconsin, that sprang into action, breaking windows and helping to evacuate passengers, two of the scouts’ mothers told ABC affiliate station WBAY in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Berken and Tierney said they both described a nerve-racking period of time between learning of the crash and hearing that their sons survived the crash without injuries.

“Until I heard from my son an hour later, that he was OK, I couldn’t stop shaking or crying,” Berken said.

Tierney added, “It was a phone call that no parent should ever have to receive. It was probably way up there on the scariest moments of my life.”

Scott Armstrong, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America, told ABC News Tuesday that there were 16 scouts, ages 14 to 17, and eight adult chaperones who were returning home from a week-long backpacking trip at a wilderness camp in New Mexico. He said three of the adult chaperones suffered non-life-threatening injuries and remained in the hospital in stable condition.

Armstrong said one of the scouts was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released.

“Our scouts immediately sprung into action and assisted other people in getting out of the train wreckage,” Armstrong said. “The train itself is physically on its side, which can be very traumatic and disorienting, and (the scouts) helped a lot of people with basic first aid and made sure they got the proper medical attention once it arrived on scene.”

He said most of the scouts on the trip had achieved their first aid merit badge and some had been awarded their emergency preparedness merit badge.

“Frankly, we know what these kids are capable of,” Armstrong said. “I’ve always described that scouting takes ordinary kids and enables them to do extraordinary things and that was on full display yesterday.”

Armstrong said one of the scouts, a 15-year-old he described as a troop senior patrol leader, went to the front of the train and discovered the driver of the dump truck that was hit, who had been ejected from his vehicle and landed in field adjacent to the toppled train. He said the scout attempted first aid on the dump truck driver and summoned state police and emergency responders, who continued to try to save the man’s life.

“They continued to give aid and then wound up just giving comfort, frankly, as he passed away on the scene, unfortunately,” Armstrong said.

He said the scouts will be monitored in the coming weeks to ensure they are both mentally and physically OK.

“It’s a pretty traumatic experience,” Armstrong said. “It’s not always evident immediately after any incident like this and so we have mental health professionals that we’re in consultation with to make sure that those services are available to the scouts and the leaders as necessary.”

Missouri Public Safety officials, highway patrol troopers and other personnel were dispatched to the scene, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson tweeted.

Mendon is about 100 miles northeast of Kansas City, Missouri.

The NTSB also said there are 130,000 passive crossings in America right now, which account for about half of all crossings. The agency said it has made recommendations for years about transforming and improving “passive” crossings.

It would’ve cost $400,000 to add cross arms, lights, and bells to the Mendon crossing, according to the NTSB.

The crash came a day after an Amtrak train collided with a car in California, killing three people.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement, “My thoughts are with the victims and families affected by today’s Missouri train derailment and the Northern California collision that occurred over the weekend. I have been updated on these crashes and my team is in communication with Amtrak and the relevant authorities.”

Federal Railroad Administration personnel are en route to Mendon, where they will support NTSB investigators, Buttigieg added.

ABC News’ Sam Sweeney, Gio Benitez and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.

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(PENSACOLA, Fla.) — A 45-year-old man was arrested after his 8-year-old son found his loaded gun in a Florida motel room, fatally shot a 1-year-old girl and wounded her 2-year-old sister, authorities said.

The shooting unfolded Saturday night in Pensacola and investigators alleged the father attempted to cover up the incident by removing the gun and suspected drugs from the room before sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene.

The boy’s father, Roderick Dwayne Randall, was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, tampering with evidence, culpable negligence and failure to safely store a firearm.

The baby girl who was killed and her sister are the daughters of Randall’s girlfriend, who was asleep in the motel room when the shooting occurred, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said at a news conference on Monday.

“Roderick leaves the hotel, but leaves his firearm in a closet [in] apparently what he thought was a safe holster,” Simmons said.

Simmons said Randall’s son knew where his father had hidden the gun.

“He pulls the gun from the holster, starts playing with it and fires a round into the 1-year-old toddler, ultimately killing the 1-year-old,” Simmons said.

He said the bullet went through the toddler and hit her sister. A third child in the room, the twin of the injured girl, was not injured, Simmons said.

Simmons said Randall returned the room following the shooting. He alleged that Randall removed the gun and a bag of suspected drugs from the room before returning.

“This is not how we treat our children,” Simmons said. “Our hearts go out to the rest of the families. This is ridiculous.”

Simmons said Randall has a 129-page criminal history that includes 14 previous felony convictions.

He was booked at the Escambia County Jail on $41,000 bond.

Relatives of the dead girl identified her as Kacey Bass.

Kacey’s mother was not charged in the episode.

At the same news conference, Simmons detailed an unrelated case of another parent arrested over the weekend on child neglect charges. He announced the arrest of a 27-year-old woman he alleged left her 1-year-old son in a hot car with the windows rolled up while she went to a bar.

Madison Haley Hart was jailed on $15,000 bond on a charge of child neglect with great bodily harm, according to online jail records.

Simmons alleged that Hart was apparently intoxicated when she showed up at the Ticket Sports Bar on Saturday night and stayed for about 20 minutes. He said bar employees stopped Hart from leaving due to her impaired condition and called the sheriff’s office.

Simmons said deputies exercised the Myers Act, which allows law enforcement officers to detain people for involuntary detox or alcohol treatment if they appear to be a danger to themselves or others. After deputies took Hart to a medical facility, a relative of the woman contacted authorities and informed them Hart should have been with her 1-year-old child and gave them a description of Hart’s car, Simmons said.

Simmons alleged that Hart denied driving to the bar and never mentioned her child was in a car outside the establishment.

He said that deputies went back to the bar and found the toddler locked inside a car with the windows rolled up. By the time deputies discovered the child, the boy had been in the car for more than an hour, Simmons said.

“We actually have to break the windows out to save this child, who was suffering from heat-related illness,” said Simmons, adding that Hart’s son was treated at a hospital and turned over to the custody of a child protective team. “You can imagine the shock of the employees and of the deputies when we find out that there was a 1-year-old left in a car in this type of heat.”

Simmons used the examples of Randall and Hart to “encourage parents to do better.”

“Ms. Hart and Mr. Randall will have their day in court,” Simmons said.

It was not clear if Hart or Randall had retained or were appointed defense attorneys.

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(MISHAWAKA, Ind.) — A young Indiana corrections officer who hoped to become a police officer has been killed in a drive-by shooting, authorities said.

St. Joseph County correctional officer Rhema Harris was killed around 6 p.m. Sunday “in yet another senseless act of violence,” St. Joseph County Sheriff William Redman said.

Harris, 28, was inside her home in Mishawaka, which is just outside of South Bend, when one bullet struck her in the chest, Mishawaka police’s detective bureau division chief Dan Gebo told ABC News.

The shooter then sped away and has not been identified, Gebo said.

The shooting was believed to be a retaliation in a feud, Gebo said, stressing that the corrections officer was not the target and she was just “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Several people were in the house with Harris, including minors, Gebo said.

Authorities have talked to several witnesses and persons of interest, Gebo said.

Harris was hired as a St. Joseph County correctional officer in July 2021 and was assigned to the midnight shift at the jail, Redman said.

“Rhema proudly served her country in the United States Army,” Redman said. “She received a national defense service award, global war on terrorism service medal and an Army service ribbon, before being honorably discharged in 2016.”

She hoped to become a St. Joseph County police officer, Redman said.

This drive-by shooting comes amid a concerning rise in gun violence. The U.S. lost 20,923 people to gun violence-related incidents last year, excluding suicides. Last year marked a big increase from 2020, when 19,515 died from gun violence, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

There are 200 million to 350 million guns in the U.S., according to estimates for this year from the World Population Review.

ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.

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(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) — Residents in the San Diego area took to social media after mysterious lights were spotted in the sky just off the coast Monday night.

With no clear indication of what the lights could be, dozens began posting photos and videos on Twitter, questioning what was happening in their night sky.

The posts offered several possible sources for the unusual lights, including UFOs or drones from the Imperial Beach Police Department, which is planning a drone light show for the Fourth of July.

However, the IBPD did not claim the lights as their own.

The San Diego Police Department told ABC News on Tuesday morning that the mysterious lights were actually flares being used for military exercises.

While nearby Naval Air Station North Island and Camp Pendleton both said that they did not know what the lights were, the SDPD said that the lights had been confirmed to them by military officials as being used for exercises.

Gabe Gunlock, a Mission Hills resident, took to Twitter with a video of the lights.

Gunlock told ABC News that he did a double take around 9 p.m. on Monday night, noticing strange, bright lights far off the coast.

He explained that he lives right near the airport in the area, so there are always planes and lights near his home.

However, he said there was something different about the lights he saw off of the coast.

At 9:55 p.m., Gunlock tweeted, “Multiple floating lights over the ocean. Very still, very bright. Orange, reddish light. Patterns of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6,” alongside a video of distant blinking lights.

Gunlock said that his Twitter post quickly gained views, with other San Diego locals acknowledging the lights and wondering what they were.

“It was a super crazy night, super fun to connect with San Diego,” Gunlock told ABC News.

Gunlock added that his post now has over 100,000 impressions on Twitter.

“All I wanted to know is, ‘what’s going on,’” he said. “It had to be miles and miles off of the coast, it was burning extremely bright.”

When Gunlock heard that the lights were from military exercises, he said that it made sense that they weren’t from the airport, especially because they were so strikingly bright.

San Diego is home to several military bases, with more than 100,000 active duty service members in the area.

Over 15,000 active duty service members transition out of active duty service in San Diego each year. According to Thomas Jefferson School of Law, over half of those transitioning out of active duty decide to stay in San Diego, where there is a deep community of over 240,000 veterans.

San Diego, home to 60% of the ships in the fleet of the U.S. Navy and one third of all active duty service members in the U.S. Marine Corps, could have more mysterious lights in the sky for its civilian neighbors in the future.

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(MENDON, Mo.) — Nearly 290 people were aboard an Amtrak train when it derailed in Missouri Monday and among them were two Boy Scout troops heading home to Wisconsin from New Mexico, the Boy Scouts of America confirmed to “Good Morning America.”

Members of Troops 12 and 73 of Boy Scouts of America Bay-Lakes Council in the Appleton, Wisconsin, area were riding along with 251 other passengers when their train struck a dump truck in Mendon, Missouri, and derailed at approximately 12:42 p.m. local time. The two troops included 16 children between the ages of 14 and 17 and eight adult leaders, according to Scott Armstrong, the director of national media relations for the Boy Scouts of America.

“I got alerted from the Council in Wisconsin of the accident and was immediately contacted as well by Roger Hoyt who’s the general manager of Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, which is where the scouts spent the last 10 days or so hiking the high desert mountains in New Mexico on an adventure of a lifetime frankly, and they got a little more adventure than they bargained for on the way home with a train derailment yesterday,” Armstrong told “GMA.”

Armstrong said the scouts, who would’ve all earned their first aid badges and received other related skills training, such as emergency preparedness, leaped into action after the collision occurred.

“One of our scouts, a 15-year-old, he’s actually the senior patrol leader, which is the lead youth of a scout troop, went forward to the point of impact of the crash and actually discovered the driver of the dump truck that was hit, who had been ejected and landed in the field adjacent to the train so our scout located the driver, attempted first aid, summoned state police and emergency responders,” Armstrong said. “They continued to give aid and then wound up just giving comfort frankly as he passed away on the scene, unfortunately.”

Two of the scouts’ mothers also told ABC affiliate station WBAY in Green Bay, Wisconsin, that they heard the scouts were also able to help break train windows and assist in the evacuation of fellow passengers.

Following the incident, the troops and their leaders were transported by bus to Columbia, Missouri, where they stayed in hotels overnight. One of the scouts had to receive medical treatment Monday but has since been released, according to Armstrong.

“All the youth have been cleared from the medical facilities so they’re in relatively decent shape,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of adults that are pretty banged up, but nothing life-threatening but every one of them put their skills and kind of presence of mind to good use yesterday, helping others.”

“These kids are built pretty tough. They just came off an adventure that adults couldn’t handle with 10 days in the mountains, hiking somewhere around 100 miles,” Armstrong added.

The Boy Scouts of America said it is working with Amtrak to arrange transportation home for the scouts and leaders and hope to get them all back to Wisconsin by late Tuesday night or Wednesday.

“The bus that was provided by Amtrak did not have a driver available to depart last night so it never arrived this morning. And so, we’re still working on alternatives to get our scouts and our adult leaders home because we got a number of parents who would like to see their boys after such a traumatic incident,” Armstrong said, adding the scouts are in “good spirits.”

The death toll in the Missouri train derailment has risen to four and at least 150 were injured. It’s the second incident impacting Amtrak this week, after another Amtrak train struck a car in Brentwood, California, Sunday. Three people died and two others were injured in the California accident.

Many have been left shaken and hurt after the Amtrak accidents and the Boy Scouts said they’re planning on providing mental health support to their members and staff in the coming days.

“We’ll be monitoring [the scouts] over the coming weeks to make sure that everybody’s OK. It’s a pretty traumatic experience. It’s not always evident immediately after an incident like this and so we have mental health professionals that we’re in consultation with to make sure that those services are available to the scouts and the leaders as necessary,” Armstrong said.

“It’s stressful enough taking kids that aren’t yours out on a high adventure like this, but when you have a catastrophic incident on top of it, we’re really proud not only just the scouts but also the volunteer adult leaders that are with them,” he added.

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(NEW YORK) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate of Jeffrey Epstein who lured underage girls into the disgraced financier’s lurid world, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison and a $750,000 fine following her December conviction on five criminal counts, including sex trafficking.

Maxwell addressed the court for five minutes and said she empathized with the victims, but she didn’t take responsibility for causing their suffering.

As Maxwell spoke, victims and accusers smirked and raised their eyebrows. At least two broke into tears.

One accuser said seeing Maxwell in ankle chains brought her comfort and felt appropriate.

Maxwell said the statements from victims and accusers were “terribly difficult to hear,” and that it was “difficult to absorb the scale and extent” of their experiences.

To the victims, Maxwell said, “I am sorry for the pain that you experienced,” adding, “I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration” brings some closure.

“It is my sincerest wish to all those in this courtroom … that this day brings this terrible chapter to an end,” she said.

Maxwell also said, “It is the greatest regret of my life that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein.”

She called Epstein a “manipulative man” who was “cunning,” “controlling” and “fooled all of those in his orbit.”

Maxwell, 60, and Epstein, who died by suicide in jail, “were partners in crime who sexually exploited young girls together,” said New York City federal prosecutors, who had asked the judge for a sentence of at least 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Maxwell and Epstein selected their victims carefully and asserted that it was no accident the four accusers who testified — “Jane,” “Kate,” Carolyn and Annie — came from single-mother households. The victims were isolated and plied with gifts, flattery, and promises of career help in what federal prosecutor Alison Moe described as a pattern of grooming and abuse.

“Ghislaine Maxwell played an instrumental role in the horrific sexual abuse of multiple young teenage girls,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “As part of a disturbing agreement with Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell identified, groomed, and abused multiple victims, while she enjoyed a life of extraordinary luxury and privilege.”

Judge Alison Nathan on Tuesday called Maxwell’s conduct “heinous and predatory” and said, “the damage done to these young girls in incalculable.”

“A very serious and very significant sentence is necessary,” Nathan said.

Nathan took note of Maxwell’s acknowledgment of the courage of the victims and the impact the crimes had on them, saying, “I think that’s important for the victims to hear/”

But Nathan also noted what wasn’t expressed by Maxwell: “An acceptance of responsibility.”

In a statement Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the sentence holds her “accountable for perpetrating heinous crimes against children.”

“This sentence sends a strong message that no one is above the law and it is never too late for justice,” Williams said. “We again express our gratitude to Epstein and Maxwell’s victims for their courage in coming forward, in testifying at trial, and in sharing their stories as part of today’s sentencing.”

Maxwell’s lawyer said Sunday that she had been placed on suicide watch while awaiting sentencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn — even though her attorneys had told the court she was not suicidal and that outside psychologists agreed with that assessment.

Maxwell, who maintains her innocence, accused the government of treating her “as if she were a proxy” for Epstein and asked the judge to impose a sentence well below the maximum 55 years.

“The witnesses at trial testified about Ms. Maxwell’s facilitation of Epstein’s abuse, but Epstein was always the central figure: Epstein was the mastermind, Epstein was the principal abuser, and Epstein orchestrated the crimes for his personal gratification,” defense attorneys said in their sentencing memorandum. “Indeed, had Ghislaine Maxwell never had the profound misfortune of meeting Jeffrey Epstein over 30 years ago, she would not be here.”

The defense also suggested Maxwell was susceptible to Epstein’s influence in part because of her relationship with her father, the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, who the defense said verbally and physically abused her.

“Ghislaine vividly recalls a time when, at age 13, she tacked a poster of a pony on the newly painted wall of her bedroom. Rather than mar the paint with tape, she carefully hammered a thin tack to mount the poster,” the defense memo said. “This outraged her father, who took the hammer and banged on Ghislaine’s dominant hand, leaving it severely bruised and painful for weeks to come.”

Prosecutors called Maxwell’s efforts to deflect blame “absurd.”

“If anything stands out from the defendant’s sentencing submission, it is her complete failure to address her offensive conduct and her utter lack of remorse,” federal prosecutors said in their memo to the judge. “Instead of showing even a hint of acceptance of responsibility, the defendant makes a desperate attempt to cast blame wherever else she can.”

Maxwell’s defense insisted at trial that the government’s case relied on the “erroneous memories” of four accusers who defense attorney Laura Menninger said “inserted” Maxwell into accounts that initially included only Epstein.

“The accusers’ memories … started to shift,” Menninger said. “The truth was manipulated and changed over time.”

The defense also argued that money brought the accusers forward “with their personal injury lawyers right there next to them.” Menninger said each accuser took home millions, “and now they are stuck with the stories they told.”

Prosecutors, whose case included two dozen witnesses, said Maxwell “made the choice to sexually exploit numerous underage girls” as part of a scheme that ran from at least 1994 to 2004. Two women who testified said they were 14 when Epstein began to abuse them, sometimes with Maxwell present or directly involved.

“She personally engaged in sexual abuse when she fondled the breasts of Jane, Annie, and Carolyn. And she used her role as a supposedly respectable, glamorous, older woman to lure these victims into a false sense of security,” prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim said Maxwell intends to appeal her conviction.

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(SAN ANTONIO) — The death toll rose to 50 on Tuesday in a suspected case of human smuggling, after dozens were found inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas, according to U.S. authorities.

Homeland Security Investigations said initially they found more than 40 people dead upon arrival on the scene Monday evening.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, citing information provided by U.S. authorities, said the death toll was at least 50, including 22 Mexican citizens, seven Guatemalan citizens and two Honduran citizens. The other victims have yet to be identified and Mexico is working with the U.S. on an investigation, according to Ebrard.

“We are in mourning,” Ebrard said in a statement Tuesday via Twitter. “Huge tragedy.”

The incident unfolded in the south-central Texas city on Monday evening at around 5:50 p.m. local time, when a nearby worker heard a cry for help and found the tractor-trailer with the doors partially opened and the bodies of 46 people inside, according to San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus and San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood.

An additional 16 people — 12 adults and four children — were transported to area hospitals in what officials called a “mass casualty event.”

Chris Magnus, the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), told reporters he was “horrified” by the incident.

“Horrified at this tragic loss of life near San Antonio,” Magnus said Monday. “This speaks to the desperation of migrants who would put their lives in the hands of callous human smugglers who show no regard for human life.”

The trailer was refrigerated but did not have a visibly working air-conditioning unit and there were no signs of water inside, according to Hood.

The victims taken to hospitals were hot to the touch and all suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion, Hood said. There were no child fatalities that authorities know of so far, he added.

Three people are in custody in connection with the incident, according to McManus, who added that the case is now a federal investigation.

President Joe Biden issued a statement Tuesday calling the deaths “horrifying and heartbreaking,” blaming the criminal smuggling industry for preying on migrants. Biden also highlighted the anti-smuggling campaign the U.S. has launched with its partners, saying they have made over 2,400 arrests.

“Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy, and my Administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry,” Biden said.

A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told ABC News that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) responded to a call on Monday regarding an alleged human smuggling event and, upon arriving at the scene, confirmed the deaths of more than 40 people.

“HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities. We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled,” the ICE spokesperson said in a statement. “To report suspicious activity, we encourage people to call the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. All calls are kept confidential.”

HSI is the arm of ICE responsible for taking down smuggling networks

“Details will be released as they are available, the criminal investigation remains ongoing,” the ICE spokesperson added. “HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities.”

The San Antonio Fire Department confirmed to ABC News that HSI and CBP are taking over the investigation from local authorities.

CBP is the umbrella agency of the U.S. Border Patrol, which responded to assist at the scene and is supporting ICE in the federal investigation, according to Magnus, the CBP commissioner.

“We will be working with our federal, state and local partners to assist in every way possible with this investigation,” Magnus told reporters Monday night.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration will “continue to take action to disrupt human smuggling networks which have no regard for lives.”

“Our prayers are with those who tragically lost their lives, their loved ones, as well as those still fighting for their lives. We are also grateful for the swift work of federal, state and local first responders,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday.

When asked about the criticism from Republicans, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who say Biden’s border policies have led to dangerous journeys for immigrants, Jean-Pierre said the White House is focused on the victims and their families.

“But the fact of the matter is, the border is closed, which is in part why you see people trying to make this dangerous journey using smuggling networks,” Jean-Pierre said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took to Twitter to say that he was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of life today and am praying for those still fighting for their lives.”

“Far too many lives have been lost as individuals — including families, women, and children — take this dangerous journey,” he tweeted Monday night. “Human smugglers are callous individuals who have no regard for the vulnerable people they exploit and endanger in order to make a profit. We will work alongside our partners to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable and continue to take action to disrupt smuggling networks.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security released more details on the Biden administration’s efforts to combat human smuggling and unauthorized migration in conjunction with the Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles.

The series of operations launched across the Western Hemisphere is part of the largest human smuggling crackdown ever seen in the region, with more than 1,300 deployed personnel and nearly 2,000 smugglers arrested in just two months.

Agencies from across the administration, including the intelligence community and the U.S. Treasury Department, have engaged to disrupt smuggling operations in real-time and strip down the financial backing of the transnational criminal organizations that coordinate these crimes.

“The Biden administration is focused on putting these organizations out of business,” DHS said in a recent statement prior to Monday’s incident. “But human smuggling is, by definition, a transnational problem and we are committed to working with our regional partners in the Americas to commit our collective expertise and resources to put an end to human smuggling.”

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Marilyn Heck, Anne Laurent and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

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(SAN ANTONIO) — Dozens of people were found dead inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio on Monday evening in a suspected case of human smuggling, authorities said.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, citing information provided by U.S. authorities, said the death toll was at least 50, including 22 Mexican citizens, seven Guatemalan citizens and two Honduran citizens. The other victims have yet to be identified and Mexico is working with the U.S. to investigate, according to Ebrard.

“We are in mourning,” Ebrard said in a statement Tuesday via Twitter. “Huge tragedy.”

The incident unfolded in the south-central Texas city on Monday evening at around 5:50 p.m. local time, when a nearby worker heard a cry for help and found the tractor-trailer with the doors partially opened and at least 46 deceased people inside, according to San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus and San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood.

An additional 16 people — 12 adults and four children — were transported to area hospitals after what officials called a “mass casualty event.”

Chris Magnus, commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), told reporters he was “horrified” by the incident.

“Horrified at this tragic loss of life near San Antonio,” Magnus said Monday night. “This speaks to the desperation of migrants who would put their lives in the hands of callous human smugglers who show no regard for human life.”

The trailer was refrigerated but did not have a visibly working air-conditioning unit and there were no signs of water inside, according to Hood.

The victims taken to hospitals were hot to the touch and all suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion, Hood said. There were no child fatalities that authorities know of, he added.

Three people are in custody in connection with the incident, according to McManus, who added that the case is now a federal investigation.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told ABC News that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) responded to a call on Monday regarding an alleged human smuggling event and, upon arriving at the scene, confirmed the death of more than 40 people.

“HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities. We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled,” the ICE spokesperson said in a statement. “To report suspicious activity, we encourage people to call the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. All calls are kept confidential.”

“Details will be released as they are available, the criminal investigation remains ongoing,” the ICE spokesperson added. “HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities.”

The San Antonio Fire Department confirmed to ABC News that HSI and CBP are taking over the investigation from local authorities.

CBP is the umbrella agency of the U.S. Border Patrol, which responded to assist at the scene and is supporting ICE in the federal investigation, according to Magnus, the CBP commissioner.

“We will be working with our federal, state and local partners to assist in every way possible with this investigation,” Magnus told reporters Monday night.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas took to Twitter to say that he was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of life today and am praying for those still fighting for their lives.”

“Far too many lives have been lost as individuals — including families, women, and children — take this dangerous journey,” he tweeted Monday night. “Human smugglers are callous individuals who have no regard for the vulnerable people they exploit and endanger in order to make a profit. We will work alongside our partners to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable and continue to take action to disrupt smuggling networks.”

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released more details on the Biden administration’s efforts to combat human smuggling and unauthorized migration in conjunction with the Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles.

The series of operations launched across the Western Hemisphere is part of the largest human smuggling crackdown ever seen in the region, with more than 1,300 deployed personnel and nearly 2,000 smugglers arrested in just two months.

Agencies from across the administration, including the intelligence community and the U.S. Treasury Department, have engaged to disrupt smuggling operations in real-time and strip down the financial backing of the transnational criminal organizations that coordinate these crimes.

“The Biden administration is focused on putting these organizations out of business,” DHS said in a recent statement prior to Monday’s incident. “But human smuggling is, by definition, a transnational problem and we are committed to working with our regional partners in the Americas to commit our collective expertise and resources to put an end to human smuggling.”

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Marilyn Heck, Anne Laurent and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

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(MENDON, Mo.) — Three people are dead and dozens are injured after an Amtrak train derailed after hitting a dump truck that was in an uncontrolled public crossing in Mendon, Missouri, according to Amtrak and officials.

Eight passenger cars and two locomotives, which is where the engines are, derailed at about 12:42 p.m. local time, Amtrak said.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Justin Dunn said two of the train passengers were killed, along with someone who was in the dump truck.

Eric McKenzie, the superintendent with Chariton County Ambulance Service, told ABC News at least 50 people were injured.

The train was en route from Los Angeles to Chicago with 243 passengers and 12 crew members on board at the time of the crash, Amtrak said. All the train occupants from the scene were evacuated, according to Dunn.

Dozens of people have been hospitalized. Officials at Hendrick Medical Center accepted seven patients from the scene, while officials at MU Health Care University Hospital/Columbia said its facility was treating 16 patients as of 10 p.m. ET. Pershing Memorial Hospital received between 15 and 20 people from the accident.

Passenger Rob Nightingale, 58, told ABC News Live his car tipped to the side and he climbed through a window to escape. He said he saw a little girl crying and her family trying to comfort her.

Nightingale said he saw some people covered in blood.

Missouri Public Safety officials, highway patrol troopers and other personnel are responding, Gov. Mike Parson tweeted.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is launching a 14-member go-team to investigate the crash. The team is scheduled to arrive Tuesday.

Mendon is about 100 miles northeast of Kansas City, Missouri.

This comes one day after an Amtrak train collided with a car in California, killing three people.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement, “My thoughts are with the victims and families affected by today’s Missouri train derailment and the Northern California collision that occurred over the weekend. I have been updated on these crashes and my team is in communication with Amtrak and the relevant authorities.”

FRA personnel are en route to Mendon, where they will support NTSB investigators, he added.

ABC News’ Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.

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(SAN ANTONIO) — At least 46 people were found dead inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio on Monday in a suspected case of human smuggling, authorities said.

An additional 16 people — 12 adults and four children — were transported to area hospitals after what officials called a “mass casualty event.”

Chris Magnus, commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), told reporters he was “horrified” by the incident.

“Horrified at this tragic loss of life near San Antonio,” Magnus said Monday night. “This speaks to the desperation of migrants who would put their lives in the hands of callous human smugglers who show no regard for human life.”

The incident unfolded Monday evening at around 5:50 p.m. local time, when a nearby worker heard a cry for help and found the tractor-trailer with the doors partially opened and a number of deceased people inside, according to San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus.

The trailer was refrigerated but did not have a visibly working air-conditioning unit and there were no signs of water inside, according to San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood.

The victims taken to hospitals were hot to the touch and all suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion, Hood said. There are no child fatalities that authorities know of, he added.

Three people are in custody in connection with the incident, according to McManus, who added that the case is now a federal investigation.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told ABC News that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) responded to a call on Monday regarding an alleged human smuggling event and, upon arriving at the scene, confirmed the death of more than 40 people.

“HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities. We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled,” the ICE spokesperson said in a statement. “To report suspicious activity, we encourage people to call the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. All calls are kept confidential.”

“Details will be released as they are available, the criminal investigation remains ongoing,” the ICE spokesperson added. “HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities.”

The San Antonio Fire Department confirmed to ABC News that HSI and CBP are taking over the investigation from local authorities.

CBP is the umbrella agency of the U.S. Border Patrol, which responded to assist at the scene and is supporting ICE in the federal investigation, according to Magnus, the CBP commissioner.

“We will be working with our federal, state and local partners to assist in every way possible with this investigation,” Magnus told reporters Monday night.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas took to Twitter to say that he was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of life today and am praying for those still fighting for their lives.”

“Far too many lives have been lost as individuals — including families, women, and children — take this dangerous journey,” he tweeted Monday night. “Human smugglers are callous individuals who have no regard for the vulnerable people they exploit and endanger in order to make a profit. We will work alongside our partners to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable and continue to take action to disrupt smuggling networks.”

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released more details on the Biden administration’s efforts to combat human smuggling and unauthorized migration in conjunction with the Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles.

The series of operations launched across the Western Hemisphere is part of the largest human smuggling crackdown ever seen in the region, with more than 1,300 deployed personnel and nearly 2,000 smugglers arrested in just two months.

Agencies from across the administration, including the intelligence community and the U.S. Treasury Department, have engaged to disrupt smuggling operations in real-time and strip down the financial backing of the transnational criminal organizations that coordinate these crimes.

“The Biden administration is focused on putting these organizations out of business,” DHS said in a recent statement prior to Monday’s incident. “But human smuggling is, by definition, a transnational problem and we are committed to working with our regional partners in the Americas to commit our collective expertise and resources to put an end to human smuggling.”

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Marilyn Heck, Josh Margolin and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

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