Border agents rescue migrant struggling in California canal, officials say

A person was found at risk of drowning in the All-American Canal in southeastern California last Friday, border officials said.

The person was attempting to migrate into the U.S. and had entered the canal with the intention of traveling north by floating across, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The person was accompanied by another individual.

The person was wearing a life vest but seemed to be struggling in the water. Border Patrol agents assigned to the El Centro sector ”deployed a rescue bag” to bring the person to safety, the release said. The incident took place at around 12:42 p.m.

The agents did a welfare check of both people, who were nationals of Mexico and did not have legal documentation to migrate to the U.S. Both individuals declined medical care. They were both apprehended and transported to the processing center at El Centro, the release said.

The All-American Canal has historically been a deadly place for migrants attempting to enter the U.S. At least seven people have died in the canal this year while trying to cross into the U.S. through the El Centro sector, “which is 70 linear miles long parallel to the southern border,” Border Report reported in July.

And in 2010, at least 550 people were thought to have died in the canal since its construction, CBS News reported.

The canal is about 80 miles long and was constructed during the 1930s to transport water from the Colorado River to cities and agricultural lands throughout California’s Imperial Valley, according to the Imperial Irrigation District.