PRETORIA - Five children aged 11 months to 7 years old were found abandoned along the Texas-Mexico border, CNN quoted the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as saying on Wednesday.
The US broadcaster said a border patrol agent responded to a call from a Maverick County constable concerning the children on Sunday.
The agent found five girls aged 7, 3, and 2 years old from Honduras, and a 5-year-old and 11-month-old from Guatemala.
CNN quoted Guatemala's Foreign Ministry as saying that the smugglers abandoned the girls near the Rio Grande.
In a video posted on Twitter by Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales, a farmer said he was driving around on Sunday morning when he spotted the girls by themselves.
“I saw the five little girls all by themselves, one was crying, one did not have clothes on, not even old enough to walk, crawling around.”
He said while he waited for officials to come through, he stayed with the girls and called his friend to bring water and food.
"It is heartbreaking to find such small children fending for themselves in the middle of nowhere," said patrol agent Austin L. Skero II in a statement posted on the CBP website.
"Unfortunately, this happens far too often now. If not for our community and law-enforcement partners, these little girls could have faced the more than 100-degree temperatures with no help."
CNN said upon questioning, the 5-year-old girl looked among their belongings and found a phone number of a family member that was supposed to receive them in the US.
The broadcaster added that the baby had a phone number written down with a marker on her diaper and CBP officials were able to reach a family member to confirm their nationality.
ABC News reported that the children did not require medical attention and were transported to the Uvalde Station for processing. They were later taken to the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday.
ANA