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Paragon Electric Electricians Health Care FRONT OFFICE Production and Manufacturing Pioneer Landscaping Crushing Crew Trades/Construction Jacobs Electric Electricians & Helpers Trades/Construction arizona portland cement maintenance electrician General Prestige maintenance USA Custodian General ADVANCED AUTOMOTIVE DISPATCHER/SECRETARY Arizona / WestSmugglers' tunnel first found in Western Ariz.The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.21.2007
YUMA — A smuggling tunnel connecting the U.S. and Mexico at San Luis was discovered after a water truck driving above it caused it to collapse, officials said.
The discovery was the first in Western Arizona, although tunnels have been found regularly in other border towns.
The U.S. Border Patrol water truck driver was using his vehicle to pack a dirt road paralleling the international boundary Wednesday afternoon when his truck sank about 3 feet, according to Border Patrol agent Eric Anderson.
"We thought at first it was too close to the surface to be a tunnel," Anderson said. But agents investigating found lumber that indicated the hole was a tunnel.
An entrance to the tunnel was discovered in a home in San Luis Rio Colorado, according to Cecilia Loera Ochoa, spokeswoman for the Mexican federal prosecutor's office. She said the tunnel extended 250 feet, with 142 feet of it in Mexico.
No one was found in the house, which was being guarded late Wednesday by Mexican authorities.
Neighbors said the home had been sold about a month ago, and they had since heard construction noise and seen young men coming and going.
It was unclear if the tunnel was still being built or had already been used for drug or human smuggling.
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