At least nine migrants died while crossing the Rio Grande river, U.S. and Mexican officials said Friday.
The victims were found Thursday near Eagle Pass, Texas. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials recovered six bodies, while Mexican officials recovered three, according to a CBP statement.
The agency said that crews rescued 37 others from the river and detained 16 people. Officials in Mexico took 39 migrants into custody.
Crews on both sides continue searching for more victims, the agency said.
The migrants likely died when crossing the Rio Grande river in an area that experienced a rise in water level of more than 2 feet in a single day.
On Thursday, the river was more than 5 feet deep. At the start of the week, it was no higher than 3 feet deep.
According to the National Weather Service, on Thursday the water was flowing about five times faster than usual.
One CBP official, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, told the Texas Tribune that the incident appeared to have been the worst mass drowning along the Rio Grande in years.
The Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector is one of the busiest corridors for migrant crossings. More than 1,500 employees, including 100 support staff and more than 1,400 border patrol agents are assigned to cover the area, which includes 41 Texas counties.
It extends 245 miles along the Rio Grande, where river crossings can be challenging even for strong swimmers due to river currents, which can be deceptively fast.
In August, officials arrested nearly 50,000 migrants in the Del Rio sector, the highest total along the entire Mexico border, according to the CBP.
According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 650 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border last year, the highest number since 2014 when the agency, which is part of the United Nations, began tracking the data.
In June, 53 migrants from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras died after they were left inside an 18-wheeler in San Antonio, Texas, in the deadliest known tragedy involving migrants smuggled into the U.S. through the Mexico border.
With News Wire Services
