SAN DIEGO– Eleven people were injured in one day after trying to climb over a wall separating Mexico and the United States and falling on the San Diego side, the latest such injuries since the wall was raised to discourage illegal crossings.
Ten people ranging in age from 18 to their mid-40s were taken to the hospital with minor to moderate injuries, according to the San Diego Fire Department.
The department said U.S. Customs and Border Protection alerted it Saturday just after 4 p.m.
Four of the injured were taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital, including three people traveling with five children, all under the age of 11, Chris Van Gorder, the president of Scripps Health, told The San Diego Union-Tribune. The hospital provided childcare while their parents received treatment.
Days ago, a man in his late 20s died trying to circumvent the border wall.
Joseph Ciacci, a neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health, has said he has seen a fivefold increase in trauma cases since the height of the border wall increased under the Trump administration, which began replacing sections that ranged in height from less than 20 feet (6 meters). ) with steel barriers of 9.1 meters long.
In 2019, UC San Diego Health treated fewer than 60 patients who fell from border walls. That number rose to almost 450 two years later.
The Mexican Consulate reported that in 2023, 29 Mexican nationals were killed by such falls while trying to cross the San Diego region, and another 120 were injured.