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GILA BEND, Ariz. (AP) — One of 11 suspected border crossers who were rescued from a desert area in Arizona has died at a hospital, federal authorities said Thursday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in the Yuma office said a 17-year-old resident of Mexico was found unconscious in Gila Bend and airlifted to a hospital along with two men who remain hospitalized.
The gender and hometown of the teen who died Wednesday wasn't immediately released and neither were the names of any of the other 10 people rescued.
Authorities said nine people from Mexico and two from Honduras were found suffering from excessive dehydration Tuesday in temperatures that topped out at 104 degrees.
The surviving 10 people were in federal custody for immigration violations, according to border officials who said one of the Hondurans is a man who has been turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and could face human smuggling charges resulting in death.
A Wellton Station Border Patrol agent responded to a citizen's call about two men in distress on Interstate 8 near Gila Bend on Tuesday afternoon.
While rendering aid, the agent learned the men were part of a larger group that possibly was in distress.
Other agents arrived and backtracked a trail leading to the downed teenager.
Agents found eight more people in need of medical attention.
The Border Patrol has reported seven deaths in the Yuma Sector in fiscal year 2016 and 84 deaths in the Tucson Sector.
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