Bangladeshi migrants rescued near Texas, detained in Turkey
A group of Bangladeshi nationals have been rescued from drowning near Texas border, a US online newspaper has reported.
And several other Bangladeshis were among 300 irregular migrants detained in Turkey, according to media reports.
Border Patrol agents rescued a group of Bangladeshi nationals after they nearly drowned in the Rio Grande, reports Beritbart.
It said Marine agents working river patrol observed a group of migrants in the Rio Grande River on the evening of 29 October.
The agents observed the four migrants were having difficulty staying afloat in the current, Beritbart quoted Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials as saying.
The agents carefully approached the group and noticed two of the men disappear under the surface. Officials said the agents quickly responded and grabbed the two men from the water and pulled them onto the boat.
Agents then pulled the two remaining migrants into the boat and transported all four to the shoreline where ground-based agents waited.
Medically trained Border Patrol agents evaluated the four migrants and determined they did not require any additional assistance.
During the immigration interview, agents learned the four men are Bangladeshi nationals who were being smuggled into the US. The agents transported the men to the Laredo South Station for processing.
Since the beginning of fiscal year 2019, Laredo Sector apprehended 75 Bangladeshi nationals, Laredo Sector officials told Breitbart News in response to an inquiry. This is more than 10 per cent of the total arrested during the previous year.
There were Bangladeshis who were among at least 301 irregular migrants held across Turkey, reports Anadolu Agency, a Turkey-based international news agency.
A total of 264 migrants including Pakistani, Iraqi, Iranian, Afghan, Bangladeshi, Algerian and Palestinian nationals, were reportedly detained during gendarmerie patrols in several districts in Edirne province.
In the Aegean Izmir province, 37 irregular migrants—including Syrians, Iraqis and Palestinians—were held in the Kusadasi district, said Anadolu Agency quoted a security source as saying.
The migrants attempted to cross to Greek islands via a rubber boat, the source added.
Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began.