Migrants stuck on border wall in San Diego rescued by firefighters

Three Mexican migrants attempting to make their way to the United States became stranded on top of the border wall at Otay Mesa on Monday. Firefighters arrived at the scene to help the men. 

Firefighters responded to a call from U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting the three men at around 7:30 a.m. near Britannia boulevard and Britannia Court, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. 

The Mexicans had climbed the steel wall in Tijuana, a portion of the border wall whose height was extended by former President Donald Trump. However, while they made it up the wall, they could not come back down. 

When they arrived on the scene, Firefighters found the men on the 30-foot-high border wall. They set up a ladder to help the men down. 

The three men were detained by Border Patrol agents and are waiting to be processed. 

“It's a very common rescue that we have down here in [Otay Mesa],” Cal Fire San Diego County Capt. Brett Bruno said, as quoted by NCB 7. “'They can get up in between the fences, but they can't get down on this side without causing significant injury.”

Between 2019 and 2021, at least 375 migrants have been injured from falling off the border wall in San Diego County. At least 7,000 undocumented migrants have died while attempting to cross the border since 1998. 

Last month, federal agents found the body of a woman hanging from the border wall. The migrant had allegedly climbed the wall with a ladder and had a harness to rappel down. However, as she attempted to descend on the other side of the wall, her foot got caught on the rope. According to authorities, she remained in that position for a significant amount of time, which led to her death.