A father of three from Mexico died this week after falling from the U.S.-Mexico border near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
Telemundo 20, spoke with Rubén Cordero's aunt who said the family was baffled after seeing the images on social media, of how he fell from the border wall, she said, the man who lost his life was originally from Sinaloa, Mexico.
In the video, the man is seen breaking free from the top of the border wall and falling at around 10:25 a.m. Tuesday, Customs and Border Protection said.
The migrants who arrived in San Diego said they were sad to hear this type of news as they were also afraid to jump the wall.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
"You can fall and so many things, the danger even the climb to get to the wall, there were people who fell over rocks and stones," said Camila Salazar, a migrant from Ecuador.
But on his way to San Diego, he said, he saw many like Ruben fall and get hurt.
"It's dark, it's hilly, it's rocky, most of us stumbled, but we didn't suffer any major injuries" Salazar added.
Local
Border patrol agents said they rendered aid to the man and requested emergency services, who upon arrival was pronounced dead.
"All of our agents are trained in first aid because we are often or most of the time the ones who find these people first," said Gerardo Gutierrez, a border patrol agent.
Due to an increase of migrants in the area, so have the incidents reported.
"We're going to continue to see people who, unfortunately, out of desperation trust these for-profit and very well-equipped organizations that can lead people to deceptions that cost them their lives," said Adriana Jasso, American Friends Committee.
Volunteers like Adriana say there are constant falls and injuries that they have to support up to four calls to the emergency services.
"We've had to call 911 at least four times this week as people were needing medical attention," said Adriana Jasso, American Friends Committee.
The Mexican consulate in San Diego said they have contacted Ruben's wife and are already working on the legal process of repatriating his body to Mexico.
Rubén's death adds to the statistics of deaths recorded by the Mexican consulate in San Diego. In 2023, there have been at least 29 deaths and 120 injuries reported of Mexican nationals attempting to cross the border.
The medical examiner's office confirmed to Telemundo 20, that the victim was among a group of people crossing the border when the deceased fell to the ground.
