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Newly installed fence panels from the US border wall fell over during strong winds Wednesday, landing on trees on the Mexican side of the border, reports CNN.
The border wall collapsed around midday local time on Wednesday, according to police in Mexicali, a town on the Mexico-California border.
Agent Carlos Pitones of the Customs and Border Protection sector in El Centro, California, told CNN that the wall was newly installed and had been set in concrete that had not yet hardened.
The fallen length of wall was around 130 feet long, according to Business Insider.
The National Weather Service reports that winds in the area gusted as high as 37 mph during the wall collapse.
Video from the scene shows the metal panels leaning against a row of trees adjacent to a Mexican street as the wind whips up dirt from the construction site on the other side of the border.
Newly installed panels from the US border wall fell over in high winds, landing on trees on the Mexican side of the border. The area is part of an ongoing construction project to improve existing sections of the wall. https://t.co/meIrmdbOnF pic.twitter.com/tRoNqjYyMW
— CNN (@CNN) January 30, 2020
“We are grateful there was no property damage or injuries,” said Pitones.
“Customs and Border Protection says local Mexicali officials diverted traffic from the area of the accident, and the agency is working with the Mexican government on the next steps to right the wall. Pitones said it is not currently known how long the construction work in the area will need to be suspended in order to allow for cleanup,” reports CNN.
The collapse happened shortly after Trump held a rally in New Jersey where he touted how “beautiful” and “powerful” his new wall is.
“We are now building that beautiful wall,” Trump said. “This powerful border wall is going up at record speed, and we just reached over 100 miles of wall. And next year we’ll be over 400 miles. And shortly thereafter it will be complete.”
President Trump: “This powerful border wall is going up at record speed.” pic.twitter.com/Cwl14K2yQz
— The Hill (@thehill) January 30, 2020
News of the collapsed border wall was immediately mocked on social media:
Trump is like his Border Wall: supported mostly by delusional fantasies, far too easy to cross, and likely to buckle and crumble in the face of sustained pressure.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 30, 2020
God, if you’re listening, give us a sign https://t.co/F8YrUuVCtx
— Casey Stegman (@cestegman) January 30, 2020
Today’s BORDER WALL CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: Miles completed yesterday-Zero; Miles completed since Inauguration—2.5. NEXT UPDATE TOMORROW.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) January 30, 2020
So when Trump said he “never understood wind,” we maybe shoulda listened, huh?
?♂️https://t.co/fCPV9ZOdIV
— Tennesseine (@Tennesseine) January 30, 2020
A piece of the border wall toppled over on Mexican side. I guess Mexicans wanted their property back. They paid for it, after all. https://t.co/odNEt0Yb3d
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) January 30, 2020
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