Border Patrol rescues man drowning in canal

El Centro Sector border patrol agents rescued a man drowning in the All-American Canal near Calexico Monday evening.

Agents reported seeing three people illegally enter the United States. The trio were seen swimming north in the canal. When they got out, agents moved in and apprehended one person. The other two men made an attempt to swim back towards Mexico.

One man, later revealed to be a 19-year Mexican national, had trouble swimming across the canal. Agents said they encouraged the man to swim back to the canal back to avoid drowning, but smugglers told him to ignore border patrol.

Rescue devices were deployed to try and pull the man to safety but that did not work. When the man began displaying signs of panic and physical exhaustion, agents fearing for his life removed their body armor and duty belts and jumped into the water to save him.

The agents were able to pull the man out of the canal and placed him into a service vehicle to stabilize his body temperature.

The man was assessed for any other potential issues. The man then declined further medical attention.

“Our Border Patrol agents disregarded the danger to their own lives the frigid, swift moving water posed and entered to save the life of a man they believed had just committed a crime,” said Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David Kim. “This is the type of selfless service our agents do regularly, no matter who is in need, to preserve the sanctity of human life.”

The man and the other man placed in custody were transported to El Centro station to be processed for illegal entry.

The other man in the canal returned back to Mexico during the rescue.