Two charged over US migrant truck deaths

The dead migrants, 39 men and 12 women, were discovered on the outskirts of the south Texas city, where temperatures swelled to a high of 39.4C, in one of the deadliest human trafficking tragedies in recent history.

Authorities called to the scene found the truck parked next to railroad tracks, with bodies inside the vehicle and strewn over a couple of blocks, after the rear door of the trailer had been opened, a local law enforcement official told Reuters on Tuesday.

Local and US authorities said there were no signs of water and no visible working air conditioning inside the truck. 

Officials said there were "stacks of bodies" and that some of the migrants were hot to the touch.