A woman attempting to enter the U.S. from Mexico died Monday after she became stuck and dangled upside down while trying to climb over the border wall into Arizona, authorities said.
Authorities were alerted after the 32-year-old woman from Mexico, whose name has not been released, was observed stuck on the wall near Douglas at about 11 p.m. Monday, according to a Facebook post by Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels.
Officials said the woman apparently climbed over the wall and, while descending on the U.S. side of the structure, got her foot and leg tangled into a harness, the Arizona Daily Star reported. The woman was trapped upside-down “for a significant amount of time,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Border Patrol officials responded, and the woman was taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead, KGUN-TV reported.
“These types of incidents are not political; they are humanitarian realities that someone has lost a loved one in a senseless tragedy,” Dannels wrote in his Facebook post. “We have to do better in finding solutions to the challenges facing our border, and we have to do it for the right reasons. Regardless of opinions, it is the facts that should direct our progress, and we will keep working toward a shared goal of border safety and security.”
The Pima County Medical Examiner is performing an autopsy to determine the exact cause of the woman’s death, the Daily Star reported.
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