WATCH: 5 rescued from hazardous hopper car during CBP inspection
Gabrielle Lopez
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Friday, the Office of Field Operations Port of El Paso said Customs and Border Protection officers rescued five people hidden inside rail hoppers trying to cross into the U.S.
Among the five rescued were a 28-year-old mother and her 12-year-old son, officials said in a social media post.
The hoppers had hazardous lime scale powder.
“Prolonged contact or inhalation of lime powder can cause severe respiratory distress, chemical burns or death,” officials said on social media. “All individuals were medically cleared and given access to showers and allowed to recover.”
OFO posted a video about the inspection-turned-rescue on Instagram. You can watch the full video below.
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