Border Patrol agents recovered and pulled a deceased migrant’s body out of the Rio Grande River on Wednesday afternoon as drownings in the river continue to reach record high numbers.
Cameraman Thomas Cooper captured the moment when Border Patrol agents recovered the body of a migrant who drowned in the river, according to Daily Caller field reporter Jorge Ventura. The agents laid the body on the shore of the river and wrapped him in a tarp to carry him away.
“As I was reporting on the Mexican side we noticed BP agents looking for a migrant body in the Rio Grande River, our cameraman [Thomas Cooper] captured the moment agents pulled and recovered the deceased body. The humanitarian crisis everyday at the southern border,” Ventura said in a tweet.
BREAKING GRAPHIC : As I was reporting on the Mexican side we noticed BP agents looking for a migrant body in the Rio Grande River, our cameraman @TCoop1800 captured the moment agents pulled and recovered the deceased body. The humanitarian crisis everyday at the southern border pic.twitter.com/yq2Ivu1ao7
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) September 28, 2022
In the Del Rio sector, U.S. Border Patrol and authorities encounter one to two deceased migrants per day who have drowned in the river, dehydrated or died from other causes, Maverick County Deputy Constable Frank Bowles told the Daily Caller in June. In August, Bowles told the Caller agents discovered a 3-year-old child who drowned in the river beneath the port of entry. Footage, posted by Ventura, captured two migrants who almost drowned from the river’s currents. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Migrant Mother Nearly Drowns With Son Attempting To Cross Rio Grande River Into US)
“This is everyday,” Bowles said. “Where they crossed right here, it’s a dangerous area. Once they get to the middle of the bridge, they picked a really rough spot to cross, it’s very deep in the middle and the current is very strong.”
Bowles additionally told Ventura 25 to 50 migrants cross the port of entry per hour, which averages to about 3,000 per day.
‘WE ARE AVERAGING 1 DECEASED PER DAY’ Texas law enforcement in Eagle Pass overwhelmed by migrants illegally crossing into the US and drowning in the Rio Grande River. Resources are spread so thin that some 911 calls like domestic violence are going unanswered @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/ZLLL1B9swe
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) August 25, 2022
The fire department in Eagle Pass, Texas, earlier in September requested refrigerators to store the dead bodies of migrants that have overwhelmed morgues and funeral homes. Eagle Pass Fire Department Chief Manuel Mello III said authorities have been conducting daily body recoveries in the Rio Grande River and are on track to recover 300 bodies this year.
“There are so many bodies being recovered that the morticians are asking for assistance,” Mello said. “I had never seen so many drownings like we’re seeing right now. We do a body recovery daily. It’s very traumatic for my personnel.”
Thirteen migrants drowned in early September in an attempt to cross the river in the Del Rio sector, Fox News reported.