A newly built section of Donald Trump’s prized border wall has fallen into Mexico after succumbing to gusts of less than 40mph.
The 30-foot tall steel panels landed on trees in Mexicali on Wednesday, across the border from the Californian town of Calexico.
“Luckily, Mexican authorities responded quickly and were able to divert traffic from the nearby street,” US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent Carlos Pitones told the LA Times. Nobody is believed to have been injured.
The construction of a US-Mexico border wall was one of Mr Trump’s key election promises, yet in November his administration was forced to admit that only 78 miles had been built, and that all of it was merely replacing existing or broken barriers.
The area of the collapse is reportedly part of this effort to improve existing sections of the wall, and Mr Pitones said the collapsed section had been newly set in concrete, which had not yet cured.
“We are grateful there was no property damage or injuries,” Mr Pitones said, adding that US border agents were working to retrieve the panels from Mexico and re-erect them. “CBP will work with the construction contractor to mitigate the impact of high winds as construction continues.”
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