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At least 1 dead, several injured after being trapped in flooded San Ysidro trench

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Posted at 5:32 PM, Jan 29, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-31 00:25:05-05

SAN YSIDRO, Calif. (KGTV) — One person has died after several people became trapped in a flooded San Ysidro trench on Friday, as storms rolled through the county.

San Diego Fire-Rescue was called to the area of East San Ysidro Blvd. and Rail Ct. just after 4 p.m. for a trench rescue, following reports from Border Patrol officers of a man stuck in a grate in water. Crews arrived to find at least eight people in the water and called for additional help from lifeguards and ambulances.

All eight were pulled from the water with minor injuries. Three people were taken to the hospital. Four were handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Prtoection.

One person was found dead.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agent responded to the area around 3:30 p.m. after reports that several people were attempting to illegally enter the U.S. through a cross-border flood culvert at that location.

When she arrived, she heard people inside the culvert calling for help.

Saturday, Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke posted rescue pictures on Twitter showing the grate where the people were trapped in the filthy and rapid moving water.

“It sounded like people were yelling,” said Angel Moreno, a border agent, and public affairs officer with Customs and Border Protection, “at which point, she responded, opened up the grates, and a total of seven individuals were rescued. Unfortunately, one person was dead.

“It appears these people were being smuggled by members of a transnational criminal organization. They utilize different tactics, and in this particular instance, they used one of the drainage culverts,” Moreno said.