Eight migrants dead, 92 rescued while attempting to illegally enter US – World News – WION

At least eight migrants drowned while attempting to cross Rio Grande river in particularly swift currents following heavy rains while trying to reach the United States, officials said. Over 90 others were rescued.

The migrants were among scores of people crossing the river near Eagle Pass, a town in southern Texas that has become a major entry point for migrants in the last year, reports The New York Times.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Mexican officials said they found a large group of people unconscious after attempting to cross the swollen river following days of heavy rains.

US officials recovered six bodies, while Mexican teams found two others, CBP said in a statement.

US officials rescued 37 others from the river and detained 16 more, while Mexican officials took 39 migrants into custody. Officials on both sides of the border continue searching for any possible victims, the CBP said.

US officials detained 53 migrants, while Mexican officials took 39 into custody.

Officials from both sides said that they are searching for any possible victims.

So far it is unclear as to which country or countries the migrants belonged to as the officials did not provide any additional information.

The Del Rio region, including Eagle Pass, sees a hub of illegal crossings and is fast emerging to be the busiest corridor for human trafficking.

Crossing the Río Grande river, which extends 245 miles (395 kilometres), is considered  very dangerous because river currents can be deceptively fast and change quickly. Crossing the river can be challenging even for strong swimmers.

So far, the officials have thwarted migrants nearly 50,000 times in the sector in July, with Rio Grande Valley a distant second at about 35,000.

About 6 of 10 illegal crossings were migrants from Venezuela, Cuba or Nicaragua, according to reports.

(With inputs from agencies)