Migrant drowns in Calexico canal after crossing border illegally in storm, officials say
A man who had just crossed illegally into the U.S. in Calexico drowned in a canal Wednesday night, according to the Border Patrol.
Agents saw the man enter the U.S. with two others about 9 p.m. a couple of miles west of the Gran Plaza Outlets in Imperial County, officials said.
The other two men swam across the All-American Canal and were apprehended immediately. Agents noticed the third man struggling to stay afloat and were unable to rescue him before he drowned, Border Patrol said.
Agents with the Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue unit responded to recover his body, but the heavy rain and low visibility made the conditions too dangerous. The search resumed the next day, and the body was found about 10 a.m. Thursday.
The man’s identity and nationality have not yet been determined.
The two men he crossed with are from El Salvador. Authorities did not say if they were part of the migrant caravan that is camped out along the California-Mexico border.
kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com
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