Two members of Afghanistan’s parliament investigating the deaths of Afghan refugees on the border with Iran announced that 45 Afghan migrants were drowned after being forced at gunpoint by the Iranian border guards to jump into the river.

Habib Ul-Rahman Pedram, the representative from Herat, who interviewed the survivors, told Reuters that a group of 57 male Afghan workers who tried to cross the border with Iran, were arrested by the Iranian border guards.

Pedram added: “These workers were arrested by the Iranian forces, and after 24 hours, they were brought to the river. They were beaten and were ordered to jump in the river and go back to Afghanistan.”

According to Pedram, the workers who could swim jumped into this harsh mountain river, but the rest who couldn’t swim, were beaten and thrown in the river.

He continued: “Only 12 out of the 57 workers who were forced into the river survived.” So far 17 bodies have been found.

EU and the U.S State Department have demanded a transparent investigation into the incident, and Afghan media and civil rights activists are searching for more details.