Calexico Fire called to free man from border fence

Fence proves to be tight fit for would-be crosser - News 11's Wiley Jawhary reports

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The Calexico Fire Department (CFD) says it recently made an an unusual rescue along the border. They say an illegal border crosser managed to scale the fence, but ran into difficulty on his way down.

It happened last Thursday night. U.S. Border Patrol was on scene and called for the Calexico Fire Departments' assistance in helping the individual. Firefighters from both Mexicali and Calexico came to help the male, the effort required assistance on both sides of the border.

The Calexico Fire Department shows us that a ladder was utilized to get to the appropriate level to where the males knee was safely able to slip through the wall. The suspect was evaluated and medically cleared and turned over to USBP. Fire Captain Eduardo Rivera has been with the Calexico Fire Department for 18 years, he was on scene that night.

“When we got there, there was in fact a mail who had his knee stuck. His knee joint was on the Mexico side and the rest of his body was on the U.S side," he said.

A similar incident that took place last Friday, where an individual fell about 20 feet from the border wall in Calexico as he was also trying to cross. This resulting in two bilateral ankle fractures. The individual was flown by helicopter to Desert Regional Hospital and is being treated for his injuries.

Kristoffer Purdy has been a medic for three years, he says although the injuries were gruesome he has seen far worse.

“We got on scene, he had deformities to his lower legs, both of his ankles to both of his legs and fractures,” he said.

The USBP El Centro sector reports a 150% increase in apprehensions and tell us that approximately 141 are apprehended on a daily basis along the border.