TEXAS McALLEN, (AP):

Texas law enforcement agents were close enough to a pickup truck to see that it was carrying people, not drugs, before one opened fire, killing two Guate-malan immigrants, a diplomat disclosed yesterday.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials have said the helicopter crew believed the truck was carrying a drug load and they shot to stop it.

But after interviewing seven surviving illegal immigrants, Alba Caceres, Guatemala's consul in McAllen, said there was agreement that the helicopter was 450 (137 metres) to 600 feet (183 metres) away when a trooper inside fired in an attempt to disable the fleeing vehicle. She said the trooper should have been able to see the people inside.

They all saw it ...

"They all saw it (the helicopter)," Caceres said. "All of them, including those riding up front because they were stuck against the window."

Along with the driver, four passengers were riding in the cab, three of them crammed behind the front seat, she said. The other six passengers, including the two who were killed, were in the truck's bed, covered with a sheet.