AZ desert rescue beacons let immigrants call for help - WFXG FOX 54 - News Now

AZ desert rescue beacons let immigrants call for help

(Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection) (Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
(Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection) (Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
PHOENIX (AP) -

The U.S. Border Patrol has announced it is adding an additional 10 rescue beacons in the Arizona desert where many migrants cross.

The 30-feet-tall towers are solar-powered and send out a call for rescue at the touch of a red button.

The border patrol already has 22 beacons across southern Arizona and is now adding another 10 within the next few weeks.

Tucson sector chief Manuel Padilla, Jr., says agents expect a spike in calls for help from migrants crossing the border as the summer approaches.

The agency has also announced that its helicopters are now equipped to hoist people who are hurt and in terrain that is hard to reach on foot.

Agents found 194 bodies in the desert last year and rescued 802 people.

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