Man living at campsite swept into canal as rain flooded area

EL PASO, Texas -- A man living in a section of a canal under a bridge overpass on Glenwood street died after being swept into a canal, authorities said.

El Paso police said it happened Thursday night after 9:30 p.m. near the El Paso Drive and Glenwood Street intersection.

The victim was pulled out of the canal by the person who saw him being swept away. The victim died at University Medical Center.

Enrique Duenas-Aguilar, Spokesman for the El Paso Fire Department told ABC-7 that no matter where canals are located, they are dangerous.

“We have these canals all over the city, some of them are even up on the mountain, and people tend to think that just because they are not close to the border they are not dangerous, however this is not the case, its the exact same conditions inside of these canals,” said Duenas-Aguilar.

“Water can rush in at any moment. There are storms coming into the borderland now, some other times there are releases of water that can just happen at any time, and people can get trapped inside of them.”

He reminds the public that if they see somebody in the canals, they should not go in to save them, rather call 911 for help.