KRGV.com

McALLEN - Seven survivors of Thursday's deadly chase north of La Joya are telling their side of the story, the Guatemalan consul said Friday.

The consul interviewed the men. They want to know why two of their compatriots are dead.

Guatemalan Consul Alba D. Caceres said the immigrants were not armed. She said they had just made a 20-day journey to reach the United States.

"They are in shock. They can't explain what happened. They don't understand why the helicopter, or the officer in the helicopter, shot at them," Caceres said.

Six immigrants were in the bed of the truck holding a blanket over their heads, Caceres said.

Caceres said the immigrants heard rapid fire coming from the helicopter. She said the men in the truck were not covered.

"I can't believe how this happened, because this is in the helicopter, they can see ... I believe," she said.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials said the helicopter crew fired on the truck because it represented a danger to the public and other drivers on the road.

"The road is a dirt road, how (do) you explain that?" Caceres said.

"They don't have any guns, they don't have any drugs, they are just illegal aliens like everybody knows," she said.

Two of the men in the bed of the truck are dead.

"We don't have official information, and that is the big problem. ... We need to understand why this happened, why two Guatemalan citizens are now dead, why?" Caceres said.

The names of the two med who died are not being released. Caceres said they have children in Guatemala. She said they are working to notify their families.