5-year-old girl drowns while trying to cross Rio Grande to enter Texas with her mother
A 5-year-old girl has drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande to enter Texas, Mexico's National Immigration Institute said Tuesday.
The girl was attempting to cross the river with her mother Monday, when the current swept her away. KVIA-TV reported the mother and child were from Guatemala.
The mother told rescuers she was holding her child, but the current swept her daughter out of her arms.
The child's body was found downstream near Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.
Four other migrants from South America were also found trapped in the river nearby and taken to safety.
In a separate incident, the U.S. Border Patrol said Tuesday it had rescued an individual from Venezuela trying to cross the Rio Grande illegally. The person was "struggling to stay afloat due to strong currents and became stranded on one of the pillars" on the the Americas Bridge.
Border Patrol agents were able to rescue the individual and bring him aboard the airboat to safety. He was evaluated and taken into custody for processing.
Last month, CBS DFW reported Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents saved two migrants who were found unresponsive and floating in the Inspiration Canal near Mission, Texas.
Migrant rescues are common in the river along the Texas border, and the attempted crossings are also sometimes deadly.
In April, a Texas National Guard member died after going into the river along the U.S.-Mexico border to help two migrants who appeared to be drowning in the Rio Grande.
In 2019, a tragic photograph showed a young father and his daughter who died trying to cross the Rio Grande in south Texas.
