A 9-year-old Mexican girl apparently drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande to the United States, federal officials reported on Friday.
The unidentified child was found on March 20 trapped and unconscious on an island on the Mexican side of the river, along with his mother and his 3-year-old brother, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement on Thursday. They also did not respond.
Alerted by passers-by on the Mexican coast, US Border Patrol agents in a maritime unit “found the individuals and immediately started administering first aid while transporting migrants to the coast,” said the CBP statement.
The mother and boy regained consciousness, the statement said.
“However, despite the efforts of Border Patrol Agents and Eagle Pass Emergency Medical Services, the 9-year-old daughter did not regain consciousness and was later declared dead,” said CBP spokesman Dennis Smith, to NBC News by email.
The rescued mother was Guatemalan, but her children were Mexican, said Smith.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of this little child,” said sector chief patrol officer Del Rio, Austin L. Skero II, in the statement. “During these difficult times, our agents remain resilient and I am extremely proud of their efforts to preserve human life.”
The CBP statement did not list the cause of death, but Lt. Jason Mares, of the Eagle Pass Fire Department in Texas, told NBC News: “It was considered a drowning.”
The tragic death occurred as President Joe Biden’s government faced a wave of migrants trying to cross the Mexican border with the United States and a growing humanitarian crisis.
Since October 1, Border Patrol agents in and around the city of Eagle Pass “have rescued more than 500 migrants trying to enter the country illegally,” the CBP said in a statement.
