Guatemala migrant woman dies after 30-foot fall from California border fence
March 29 (UPI) -- A migrant woman from Guatemala died after falling approximately 30 feet from the top of a border fence near a port of entry in California, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Friday.
The woman became stuck atop the secondary fence near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego on March 21, calling for help for over 20 minutes before falling onto concrete and suffering major head injuries, according to a statement issued by CBP, which only confirmed the incident Friday.
The Otay Mesa Port of Entry is one of three ports of entry in the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan region.
Border agents immediately became aware the woman was attempting to scale the fence at about 10:30 p.m. PDT. The barrier at that point is approximately 30 feet tall and made up of vertical metal bollards.
Agents did attempt to discourage the woman from climbing the fence but she did not follow their verbal instructions.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department arrived approximately 18 minutes later but the firetruck was unable to negotiate a narrow turn to deliver a ladder close enough to be used, according to CBP officials.
Agents heard the woman yelling for assistance multiple times before she eventually fell from the fence at 10:54 p.m. PDT, 23 minutes after she was first located and became stuck.
Firefighters were able to get to the woman until approximately 10 minutes later and conducted CPR before a physician by phone eventually declared her deceased.
Officials confirmed some of the incident was captured by body cameras worn by CBP agents.
The San Diego Police Department and San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office have taken control of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the woman's death.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office has yet to rule on an official cause of death. The case does not yet appear on the department's website.
The San Diego Fire Department Professional Standards Unit and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General are also conducting internal reviews of the incident, as is the CBP Office of Professional Standards.
The Otay Mesa Port of Entry is the third-busiest commercial land crossing between the United States and Mexico. It is also the scene of frequent illegal crossing attempts by migrants coming from Central and South America.
In 2021, a woman died attempting to swim around a barrier on the southern boundary from Tijuana into the United States near San Diego.
