EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Surveillance video released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday shows a smuggler on Tuesday evening dropping two toddlers over the border wall just west of Mount Cristo Rey and then abandoning them.

A Santa Teresa CBP agent utilized camera technology to observe a smuggler dropping a three-year-old girl and a five-year-old girl, sisters from Ecuador, from the top of the approximately 14-foot-high border barrier. After dropping the girls over the wall, the smuggler returns to the Mexican side, joining another smuggler, and then running away.

The agent viewing the camera then alerted Santa Teresa agents and directed them to the location of the incident. Responding agents found the children and rendered aid to them. The sisters were alert when agents found them, according to a news release.

They were transported to the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station for evaluation by medical
personnel and were later transported to a local hospital as a precautionary measure. The girls were medically cleared and are in Border Patrol temporary holding, pending placement by Health and Human Services.

“I’m appalled by the way these smugglers viciously dropped innocent children from a 14-foot border
barrier last night. If not for the vigilance of our Agents using mobile technology, these two tender-aged siblings would have been exposed to the harsh elements of desert environment for hours,” El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez said. “We are currently working with our law enforcement partners in Mexico and attempting to identify these ruthless human smugglers so as to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Warning: Video contains disturbing scenes that may be disturbing to some viewers.