Border Patrol rescues drowning woman from canal
El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Calexico Station rescued a drowning woman in the All-American Canal Wednesday night. Authorities said the woman was in an isolated area about 32 miles east of the Calexico West Port of Entry.
Agents received a notification at 6:17 p.m. from a Remote Video Surveillance Systems Operator that a woman had made an illegal entry into the United States by climbing over the U.S./Mexico International Boundary Fence. The camera operator saw the woman had fallen into the All-American Canal and was in distress, according to the Border Patrol’s news release.
El Centro Sector agents, with the help of Yuma Sector Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue agents, pulled the 29-year-old woman from the canal as she was struggling to stay afloat. Agents said the woman was taken to a medical center in Yuma, Arizona where she was diagnosed with hypothermia and anxiety.
“People tend to underestimate the danger of the All-American Canal,” said Rodney S. Scott, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Centro Sector. “The selfless actions of our Border Patrol agents pulled this woman from a dire situation. It also demonstrates our commitment to the sanctity of all human life.”
The woman was medically cleared and returned to the Calexico Border Patrol Station for processing, according to authorities. She is a Mexican national and she will be returned to Mexico.
Since Oct. 1, 2016, there have been six reported rescues attributed to the El Centro Sector Border Patrol, agents said in a release.
