Video: Border Patrol Revives Drowned Migrant Teen on Rio Grande

A Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agent performed CPR on a drowned migrant teen — saving his life. The agent found the 13-year-old boy floating lifeless in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas.

“Words cannot express my gratitude nor convey the sense of pride I have for these agents,” said Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Raul L. Ortiz.  “Without a doubt, their quick life-saving actions brought this young man back from the brink of death.”

The video above captures the images of the Border Patrol agent performing life-saving first aid on the migrant who had been submerged for more than a minute before agents pulled him to safety, according to information provided by Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials.

Before the video, Eagle Pass Station agents patrolling the Rio Grande on June 25 near the Eagle Pass Port of Entry observed two migrants struggling to stay afloat in the swiftly moving currents of the deadly river. As the agents approached in their airboat, they saw a third person downstream who appeared submerged and motionless.

The agents quickly moved their boat into position and pulled the lifeless teen’s body from the river. Agents observed the boy to be unconscious and not breathing. They said he had been underwater for at least a minute before they were able to pull him into the floor of the boat.

The vessel commander began CPR. One of the crewmembers assisted. Eventually, the CPR worked and the boy began coughing up water. He started breathing on his own and regained consciousness shortly after that.

The agents then recovered the two original people they saw in distress and learned they are the parents of the 13-year-old migrant teen.

A Border Patrol EMT onshore evaluated the boy and his parents. A local ambulance arrived and transported the boy and his mother to a local hospital where the boy received advanced medical care, officials stated. Doctors later released the boy and agents returned them to the Border Patrol station for processing.

That same day, Eagle Pass Station agents recovered the body of another migrant not far from the location of this successful rescue, Breitbart News reported. The agents recovered the body approximately two miles northeast of the Eagle Pass Port of Entry where he could have safely and legally crossed the border.

So far this year, 21 migrants have been found dead in the Del Rio Sector — many from drownings in the dangerous river. Many of these deaths involved children being forced by their parents to cross the dangerous river.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.