Woman Dies as 70 Migrants Swim Around Mexico Border Into the U.S.

A woman has died after dozens of migrants attempted to swim around a border barrier in order to enter the U.S.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement its agents were notified that a group of 70 people had attempted to swim across the international boundary from Tijuana at about 11:38 p.m. on October 29.

Responding agents found the group had tried to make their way to the beach at Border Field State Park in San Diego and also located a woman who was unresponsive, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection media release.

Agents performed CPR on the woman and called emergency medical services (EMS), firefighters and lifeguards.

When the EMS did arrive at about 12:30 a.m., October 30, the woman was pronounced deceased.

Border Patrol agents were able to locate 36 adult Mexican nationals who swam around the border barrier and took them into custody for processing.

Of the 36 Mexican nationals, 25 were men, 11 were women and 13 were rescued directly from the water.

San Diego Sector's Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke said: "This is yet another example of the ruthless tactics smuggling organizations use to bolster their power and profits.

"We will work tirelessly to pursue and bring to justice those responsible for this tragedy."

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment.

There were 557 Southwest deaths in the fiscal year 2020, a sharp increase compared to 300 fatalities in 2019, according to U.S. Border Patrol data seen by CNN.

Data for September, seen by Newsweek, showed the number of unique encounters last month was 142,710 - a 9 percent reduction from August.

More than half - an estimated 59 percent - were single adults, with 113,030 such encounters in September, a 9 percent increase compared to August.

The crisis at the southern border has led some state governors to mull actions that they say will tighten security.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said officials at the border with Mexico are laying down "miles of razor wire" amid reports of an approaching caravan of migrants.

He also claimed Texas is "building its own border wall" and that work will begin on it within the next two months.

Gov. Abbott said Texas has reappropriated more than $3 billion of state taxes to secure its border.