8 migrants die trying to cross the Rio Grande on the southern US border

At least eight migrants were found dead in the Rio Grande – also known as the Rio Grande – after dozens of them tried to cross from Mexico into Texas near Eagle Pass, authorities said.

On Friday, a day after the incident, border agents, as well as members of the police and fire department, continued to search for possible victims, according to Rick Pauza, a spokesman for the United States Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP for its English initials).

CBP and Mexican officials made the discovery Thursday while responding to a report that a large group of people were crossing the river. Heavy rains in recent days had caused particularly fast currents. US officials recovered six bodies, while Mexican teams recovered another two, according to a CBP statement.

Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, is fast becoming the busiest corridor for illegal crossings: agents apprehended migrants in the sector nearly 50,000 times in July; a distant second is the Rio Grande Valley with approximately 35,000.

The area attracts immigrants from dozens of countries, many of them in families with young children. Approximately 6 out of 10 arrests in the Del Rio sector were of migrants from Venezuela, Cuba or Nicaragua.

The sector, which stretches 245 miles (395 kilometers) along the Rio Grande, has been especially dangerous because the river’s currents can be deceptively fast and change suddenly. Crossing the river can be challenging even for good swimmers.

In total, on Thursday, 53 migrants were arrested by US border authorities, including 37 people who were rescued while trying to cross the Rio Grande. For their part, Mexican authorities arrested another 39 migrants in the area.

CBP did not indicate which country or countries the migrants were from and did not provide any additional information about the rescue or search. Local Texas agencies that were involved did not immediately respond to requests for additional information.

In a press release last month, CBP said it had discovered the bodies of more than 200 migrants in the sector from October through July.

Studies carried out by the International Organization for Migration and other entities point to an increase in fatalities and the number of attempted crossings. Over the past three decades, thousands of people have died trying to enter the United States at the southern border, often from dehydration or drowning.

In June, 53 migrants were found dead or dying in a tractor-trailer on a secondary road in San Antonio.

^{* With information from AP and Reuters.}

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