Ten people have been hospitalized after falling from the border fence near the Tijuana River Valley on Saturday afternoon, officials said.
Around 4 p.m., the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department received reports from Border Patrol that people climbing the fence fell.
When crews arrived at the scene, they found 10 individuals, who were then taken to the hospital with various injuries, the worst being broken bones, according to SDFD Battalion Chief Oscar Rodriguez. Their ages ranged from 18 to mid-40s.
"We did have some children that were accompanied there, so we did transport those children with the parents to the trauma centers throughout the city," Rodriguez told NBC 7.
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Joseph Ciacci, a neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health, has said he’s 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 of less than 20 feet in height with 30-foot steel bollard barriers.
In 2019, UC San Diego Health treated fewer than 60 patients who had fallen from border walls. That number jumped to nearly 450 two years later.
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The Mexican consulate reported 29 Mexican nationals died in 2023 while trying to cross into the San Diego region, and another 120 were hurt.
No other details were immediately available.
An NBC 7 crew was at the scene to gather more information.
This is a developing story. Please refresh for updates.
