Agents rescue 10 ejected from smuggling vehicle

Federal agents found 10 illegal immigrants who had been ejected from a smuggling vehicle late Saturday night.

At 9:45 p.m., an agent from the Yuma sector U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol spotted a "suspicious" vehicle along the Bradshaw Trail, about 25 miles southwest of Blythe.

During an attempt to locate the vehicle, agents found 10 illegal immigrants along the trail that had fallen out of the vehicle while it was traveling. The driver did not stop to retrieve the people who had been ejected, according to a federal official.

One individual had a punctured lung and was transported to Desert Regional Hospital in Palm Springs, Calif., according to the release.

At 11 p.m., federal officials determined the vehicle had entered the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range during active operations and terminated the search for the vehicle due to safety concerns.

“Incidents like this further illustrate the smugglers' complete and callous disregard for human life,” said Yuma sector Chief Patrol Agent Paul Beeson. “I would strongly caution anyone against trusting their lives or those of their family members to criminals offering false promises of safe passage to the U.S. The only safe way to enter the country is to do so legally through a port of entry.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of national borders.