Texas in the USA: Eight-year-old visited the doctor three times on the day of her death

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U.S. Border Patrol (symbolic image): Reported to the medical station three times

Photo: John Moore/ Getty Images

She complained of vomiting and abdominal pain, finally she fainted: An eight-year-old girl who died last week in the custody of the US authorities on the Mexican border has requested medical care several times shortly before her death. But the young asylum seeker, Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez from Panama, only came to the hospital when she was already unconscious. This was confirmed by the US authorities on Sunday, as reported by CBS, among others.

According to the report, the girl's mother reported three times to the medical station of the border unit in southeastern Texas on May 17, according to the report of the US Customs and Border Protection. On the third visit in the afternoon of the day, "the mother carried the girl, who apparently had a seizure. Subsequently, according to the records, the child was no longer responsive." Despite directly initiated resuscitation measures, the girl was declared dead a short time later.

Those responsible were aware that the girl had a heart condition and suffered from sickle cell anemia, the report said.

Serious allegations against U.S. border patrol

The girl's mother had already made serious allegations to the US authorities shortly after the death of the eight-year-old. She had repeatedly asked to take her sick daughter to a hospital. The girl's condition continued to deteriorate for several days. "I had the feeling that no one believed me," said Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, the mother of the dead girl.

The U.S. authorities are now trying to limit the damage. One was "deeply saddened" by the "tragic death" of the girl, said a spokesman for the border guard. We need to ensure that medically fragile individuals receive the best possible care and spend as little time as possible in the custody of border guards," the spokesperson said.

Rising number of refugees after the end of the coronavirus emergency

The girl is the second minor to die within a short period of time in the custody of US authorities. A week earlier, 17-year-old Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza from Honduras had died. At the beginning of the year, a four-year-old child is said to have died in US custody.

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Last week, hundreds of migrants were detained in the open air on U.S. soil between two border walls in San Diego. Many lived for days on water, chips or cereal bars and what volunteers or vendors passed through the openings in the wall.

lmd/AP