Five people rescued from flooded drainage pipe while crossing Mexico border, feds say

Five Mexican nationals have been rescued from a flooded drainage tube after trying to cross into the U.S. illegally, according to a post by Chief Patrol Agent Douglas Harrison of Border Patrol.

The rescue happened near Canyon Del Sol in San Diego on Dec. 23, according to ABC10 San Diego. Border Patrol agents called the San Diego Fire Department to help with the rescue. Only the heads of the five people — three women and two men — could be seen above the water.

“At approximately 1 p.m., Border Patrol agents witnessed five individuals climb into the water culvert drainage system and as they entered the tubes, they traveled north into the United States of America,” Jarrett Decker from Border Patrol in San Diego told CNN. “Luckily, Border Patrol agents were able to respond to the area and make a safe rescue of all five individuals and nobody was injured or harmed during this time.”

Emergency crews provided medical aid and blankets to the people rescued at the scene before taking them to hospitals for further medical evaluation, authorities said.

People use the drainage tunnels when there’s rain or a storm because the grates are lifted, said Border Patrol, The San Diego Union Tribune reported.

The people were taken to a hospital and will later be put in Border Patrol custody, The San Diego Union Tribune reported.

The tunnel system was the same one that almost two dozen migrants used to try to cross the border on Thanksgiving. Border Patrol agents rescued them from the flooded tunnels, NBC reported.

This story was originally published December 24, 2019 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Five people rescued from flooded drainage pipe while crossing Mexico border, feds say."