Photos: Man Nearly Drowns As He Tried Crossing Into US From Mexican Border Via River

A U.S. Border Patrol agent jumped into the Rio Grande to save a drowning immigrant and returned him to Mexico.

The agency says two Harlingen agents were patrolling west of Progreso on Wednesday morning when they saw two men jump into the water.

 

They say the teen was in the middle of the river swimming toward Mexico when he started having trouble staying afloat. The second man, a suspected smuggler, ignored the teen and swam away, authorities said.

According to the Border Patrol, one of the agents put on a life preserver and jumped into the Rio Grande. After struggling with the current, he reached the boy and carried him to the Mexican side of the river.

He stayed with the teen until he determined he was OK and then swam back to the U.S.