The body of a 6-year-old girl from India was found this week in a remote desert area in Arizona, just over the US-Mexico border, officials said.
US Customs and Border Protection said, the girl was trying to cross into the United States with a group of people from her country. Her body was discovered 17 miles west of Lukeville.
According to a CNN report quoting, the group was trying to get into the US after human smugglers dropped them off near the Mexico border.
Pima County Chief Medical Examiner Gregory Hess identified the girl as Gurupreet Kaur, who was a month shy of turning 7. Her death was accidental and caused by hyperthermia, Hess said.
Border Patrol agents got the information on her movements from two women from India who told officials they'd been separated from a woman and two children travelling in their group hours earlier.
Tucson Chief Patrol Agent Roy Villareal said. "This is a senseless death driven by cartels who are profiting from putting lives at risk."
The numbers of Indians crossing US borders has steadily risen in recent years mainly due to a higher unemployment in India. Last year, more than 9,000 people from India were detained at US borders nationwide - a big increase from the prior year, when that number was about 3,100. A decade ago, in 2009, that number was 204, reported CNN.
