SAN YSIDRO, Calif. (KGTV) — The San Diego Medical Examiner is working to identify the body of a man found Tuesday morning in the Tijuana River Channel near the Las Americas outlet mall.
Someone, possibly a construction worker, alerted the border patrol to the body in the water just west of the pedestrian west port of entry.
Pedro Rios is the director of the American Friends Service Committee and an immigrant rights advocate.
"It's important to stress we don't know the intentions of that person," said Rios.
Sky 10 was over the scene just after 7 am. The Medical examiner is working to identify the body and cause of death. It's unknown if the man was a migrant crossing into San Ysidro, but the river channel has been a popular and especially dangerous route, given the recent rain.
"We don't know if that means it was a migrant who intended to cross who fell and drowned as has happened before or if it's a body that was brought in through the same river because of the storm we had recently," said Rios.
Just last week, firefighters recovered the body of a 61-year-old man from West Africa. He drowned after getting separated from a group of undocumented travelers. Last month, crews rescued eight migrants trapped by rising flood waters.
"It's an unfortunate situation nonetheless. Anytime there is loss of life, it should cause us pause to wonder what happened and hope there is some healing for that person's family," said Rios.
New numbers released Tuesday from the Mexican Consulate's office in San Diego reveal in 2023, twenty-nine Mexican nationals died while trying to cross between ports of entry, and one-hundred-twenty were injured.
That's down from the previous year when forty-two Mexican nationals died, and one-hundred-twenty-four were hurt.
The office says factors contributing to the decrease include fewer Mexicans trying to enter through Tijuana, new technologies used in rescues, and the tendency to seek refuge through an asylum application.
The consulate's office says it's important to note those numbers do not include other nationalities or account for the missing.
