The tragic video shows young migrants drowning in the Rio Grande, a deadly turn in the escalating border crisis.
The images, captured by fisherman Jesse Vargas, show the heads of three people moving in the water. The U.S. Border Patrol, whose officers were on the shore, said only two people were killed.
“You don’t have life jackets, do you? These guys are drowning! ”Fisherman Jesse Vargas can be heard calling the officers.
“That girl didn’t come out anymore!” Vargas continued. He used his fishing reel to save a boy, about 13 years old, but claims a woman and two teenagers drowned.
The incident came after officers “thwarted an attempt to smuggle human beings,” the Laredo sector of the Border Patrol said in a Facebook post.
The message said officers saw several individuals attempting to swim across the Rio Grande River to Mexico and that several were arrested, while others reached the banks of the Mexican River.
“Two individuals succumbed to the dangerous currents of the Rio Grande River and died,” the statement said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
The video shot of Vargas shows Mexican authorities retrieving a body on the opposite side of the river.
The Office of Professional Responsibility for Customs and Border Patrol is reviewing the incident, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The incident took place on Tuesday, and after posting the video, Vargas told KABB, a local CBS affiliate, that he had received calls from Guatemala and other Central American countries asking about the woman.
The number of people trying to cross the border has increased dramatically, Vargas added. He said he tells immigrants if they are trapped, “Don’t cross the river.”
The Border Patrol did not immediately return a message from The Post asking for comments.