Illegal border-crosser gets stuck in drainage pipe

UNION-TRIBUNE

11:30 a.m. December 10, 2008

A woman who tried to enter the United States through a drainage pipeline got caught in the manhole today and was rescued by San Diego and Chula Vista firefighters.

SAN YSIDRO – An illegal immigrant stuck in a manhole while entering the country through a drainage pipe was flown to a San Diego hospital Wednesday to treat a hip injury, according to the Border Patrol.

The woman said she and her husband were part of a large group that broke open and entered the cross-border drainage pipe on the Mexican side of the border Tuesday night, according to a Border Patrol agent.

The woman, between 30 and 40 years old, hurt her hip as she dropped into the pipe, the agent said. She was carried to the U.S. side, where sensors alerted the Border Patrol that someone was in the pipe, the agent said.

San Diego and Chula Vista firefighters helped get the woman out of the manhole on Clearwater Way near Dairy Mart Road about 9:30 a.m.

The Border Patrol is investigating.

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