Falls from US-Mexico border wall in San Diego hospitalize 10 in a day

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eleven people were hurt over the weekend while trying to climb over a wall that separates Mexico and the United States and falling on the San Diego side, the latest such injuries since the wall was heightened to deter illegal crossings.

Ten people ranging in age from 18 to mid-40s were taken to the hospital with mild to moderate injuries, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

The fire department said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection alerted the fire department just after 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Four of the injured were taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital, including three people who were 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 child care while their parents were being treated.

Days ago, a man believed to be in his late 20s died trying to get around the border wall.

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 (6 meters) in height with 30-foot (9.1-meter) 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.

The Mexican consulate reported 29 Mexican nationals died in 2023 while trying to cross into the San Diego region, and another 120 were hurt.