On Thursday afternoon, Domini Franco, a young Phoenix mother, said a final goodbye to her boyfriend and the father of her two children.

Dario Mendoza, 26, died after having a heat stroke working on a farm in Yuma, Arizona, on July 20. It was the ninth day of temperatures exceeding 110 degrees and it was 116 degrees when he collapsed before 10 a.m.They had been together for seven years. In a Facebook post on the day Mendoza died, his girlfriend paid tribute to him but also left a stark warning for others working in the fields during what has been reported as the hottest month in recorded history.

”Please please please everyone DRINK WATER,” she wrote. “& KEEP COOL. Even if you aren’t thirsty the heat CAN KILL & IT HAS NO MERCY.”

Mendoza is the second farm worker who died this July and the third of the year. On average, 43 farmworkers die from heat-related illnesses every year, according to studies. They are 20 times more likely to die from heat than civilian employees.

They aren’t alone. Landscapers, gardeners, and roofers face the deadly threat of excess heat exposure. Of the 32 million outdoor workers in the country, around 2.6 million are in agriculture, of which half are undocumented. Nearly 90% come from Mexico.

And it’s only getting hotter every year.

The United States has experienced several heatwaves this year, with records being shattered in dozens of regions. Last year, 1500 people officially died from heat-related illness, although it’s likely to be a considerable undercount, with one 2020 study suggesting the number could be as high as 10,000 per year.

In the workplace, between 1992 and 2016, intense heat was responsible for severe injuries to almost 70,000 workers, resulting in 783 deaths, as found in a study by Public Citizen, a non-profit organization for consumer rights. The deaths aren’t always reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or in the news.

While heat can kill by itself, it can also exacerbate other illnesses that the deceased person may have also been suffering from, like obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes This is known as a comorbidity. That can mean that heat-related deaths are misidentified. And sometimes symptoms don’t appear long after the person has left work, adding to the difficulty in identifying a cause of death. Heat-related symptoms can sometimes be built up over days.

Some of the most at-risk workers from heat-related illnesses are undocumented immigrants. They tend to willingly work longer hours for less pay in hazardous conditions for fear of being reported to immigration officials, according to United Farm Workers (UFW) Spokesperson Daniel Larios.

“Violations often go unreported because a majority of farm workers are undocumented and face the threat of deportation,” he said while noting in an email that 55% of farm workers in Washington had experienced heat illness symptoms and 40% had not been offered shade. “This is the reason why we need heat protection standards that protect farm workers and ensure that employers treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve.”

And that means they are at greater risk of heat-related illnesses and death. Jobs with the most significant heat risk are disproportionately held by Black and Brown workers, according to a UFW study. For example, while Latin workers make up 17.6% of the workforce, they make up 65% of farm laborers, graders, sorters, and crop workers.

In the aftermath of Mendoza’s death, legislation has been put forward in Arizona to help protect farmers and other outdoor workers. Only California, Oregon, and Washington legally require outdoor breaks for workers. Colorado has a rule that only covers farmworkers. Texas recently passed a law that did away with water break rules for workers. Advocates have claimed the lack of breaks and other measures to combat heat will result in more deaths. “Farm workers help feed America, and they deserve to live and work without worrying about what will happen to their families if something should happen to them,” added Larios. “We need action now.”

Below are some people killed by heat working on farms and as landscapers. However, it’s important to note that not all deaths are reported to OSHA or in the news. Reckon tracked down some workers who have never been identified in the media.

Dario Mendoza, 26.

Mendoza was a deeply loved husband and father. Relatives said he was doing his best to provide a better life for his family before he passed away in 116-degree heat last month, one degree shy of the temperature record for that time of year.His girlfriend said in a Facebook tribute last month that he was free-spirited and that the pair had one day hoped to get married after being together for seven years.

”I loved you so much & even tho we weren’t perfect, we kept trying & wouldn’t give up,” she said in a different post. “You cared for me even then I don’t care for myself.”OSHA investigators did not mention the farming company he worked for; the investigation is ongoing.

Efraín López García, 29

The young Guatemalan had spent eight years working on farms in Homestead, Florida, before he passed away on July 6 from heat stroke. His cousin, who also worked at the farm, said workers weren’t sure what to do when he fell ill and hadn’t been trained to recognize heat-related illnesses or administer first aid. It was the hottest day recorded on Earth since 1979.

Feeling unwell, López García took a break from picking longan, a tropical fruit related to lychee. He was given water and left to rest. When his cousin returned to check on him, he had walked off. He was found several yards away, lying on his stomach.

His brother told reporters that he was “amiable, fun, a good person” and liked to spend his time off work at the beach. “When I was with him, we were happy,” added his brother.

Medical examiners have not yet ruled on the official cause of his death. He died at the Ba 9 Vuon Trai Cay farm, and the company has not yet been cited.

Mendoza and López García’s deaths were widely reported. We know who they were, their families, and how many loved them. But for every immigrant farmer’s death reported in the news, dozens go unreported. If you’re looking, and most people are not, some of their names can be found in obscure online government databases where only the date and nature of their death are recorded. Local immigrant and farming groups aren’t always aware they have passed, and little is known about what happens to them after death. And some of those who have passed away are not even named.

Luis Vences, 54

He was born in Mexico sometime in August 1968, according to his record of death on the Nexis database. He worked for Ayres Landscaping in areas close to Los Angeles, Calif.

According to an OSHA report, Vences was doing roadside landscaping maintenance work with two coworkers. Close to the end of his shift, at around 1:30 pm on Sept. 8, 2022, he began to experience dizziness, vomiting, and disorientation in the 95-degree heat.

He was rushed to the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in nearby Ontario, Calif., where he died from heatstroke.

His employer, Ayres Landscape Services, Inc., was fined $20,000 over the incident. They did not return calls from Reckon.

Juan Jose Antonio Morales Franco, 18

Little is known about the teen landscaper who died in Midway Park, North Carolina, from a heat stroke on July 29, 2022.OSHA investigators noted that he was a new hire at Mainscape, Inc, a nationwide landscaping company. On the day of his death, he mowed lawns, trimmed edges, and operated a gas leaf blower in a residential area just outside of Jacksonville, North Carolina, about 50 miles north of Wilmington.

His former employer did not return calls, and his name could not be traced on social media or national databases. He remains a single-page government report.

Investigators said the temperature outside that day was 103 degrees. The report also noted that the teen hadn’t been acclimatized to extreme heat, which usually involves some days and weeks of working and taking constant breaks until the body is prepared for longer shifts. Although he took multiple cooling down breaks and drank water in the shade and an air-conditioned vehicle, he stumbled and collapsed at around 11 am. He could not stand up. Emergency services took him to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. He was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later with a temperature of 110.7 degrees.

Investigators deemed the death an accident and did not find Mainscape, Inc. guilty of his death.

Jose Lupercio Medina, 34

Medina also worked for Mainscape, Inc. and died a few weeks before his teen colleague.

On July 6, 2022, he was trimming weeds on his second day of work in Navassa, North Carolina, about 10 miles west of Wilmington, according to the OSHA report.

At some point during the work day, Medina complained that he was tired and unwell. Later in the afternoon, he fainted and was transported to a hospital, where he died from heat exhaustion. The employer told investigators that water was available but didn’t know whether shade, air conditioning, or Medina had been acclimatized.

The company was deemed willful in his death and fined $151,000. The company later contested the fine.

Unknown, 28

Some reports don’t even contain the person’s name. This unknown person died on his second day on the job in Parkland, Fla., an agricultural area just outside Miami.

According to a Dept. of Labor report, this unknown man had obtained a work visa and arrived in Florida from Mexico on New Year’s Eve. He had been picking bell peppers when complaining of fatigue and leg pain in the 90-degree heat. Later, he was found in a shallow drainage ditch at C.W. Hendrix Farms on New Year’s Day, 2023.

Investigators determined that Rafael Barajas, a farm labor contractor who hired the young farmworker, could have prevented his death by following established safety practices regarding heat-related hazards.

”The first day of 2023 was this young worker’s last because his employer failed to take simple steps to protect him from heat exposure, a known and dangerous hazard,” said OSHA Area Office Director Condell Eastmond in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “Had Rafael Barajas ensured workers were given time to get used to working in high temperatures and provided them with water, shade, and rest, the worker might not have lost his life.”Barajas was fined $16,000.

Unknown, 35

This unknown man died while harvesting strawberries for 8 hours in Duette, Fla., on April 5, 2022. It was also his second day on the job, according to an OSHA investigation.

At around 5:45 pm, his co-workers observed him showing disorientation while in the 89-degree heat. He was taken to a nearby housing unit, where he died, according to the report. His death was not publicly acknowledged until August, and he was never seen by a medical professional or taken to a medical facility.

OSHA said the company had exposed workers to high ambient heat and failed to ensure they were adequately trained in first-aid. Citrus Harvesting did not maintain an effective heat illness prevention plan and neglected to develop a work and rest schedule for new workers who needed to be acclimatized.

“Citrus Harvesting Inc. failed to take reasonable steps to ensure employees assigned to work outdoors in hot temperatures are taking frequent rest and water breaks,” said OSHA Area Office Director Danelle Jindra in Tampa, Fla. “An effective heat illness prevention plan could have prevented this tragedy.”The company was issued a $29,000 penalty.