Chinese man hurt trying to scale border fence

Sat, 08/27/2011 - 00:01

NOGALES, Ariz. — A Chinese man was taken to the hospital after he was injured while attempting to scale the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Nogales this week.

Border Patrol agents from the Nogales Station said they rescued the 21-year-old illegal immigrant from Fujhou, China, after he fell from the fence on the afternoon of Aug. 22 and suffered a compound fracture to his left leg. The Nogales Fire Department was contacted and the man was transported to an unspecified hospital for treatment.

Agent Eric Cantu, spokesman for the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, said the injured man was likely traveling alone because there was no evidence of other migrants crossing with him.

Smuggling Chinese people over the border has become an attractive business because they are willing to pay up to $40,000 to enter the U.S. illegally, Cantu said. By comparison, Mexicans and Central and South Americans usually pay between $1,500 and $3,000.

“It’s far more lucrative to smuggle Chinese people,â€