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Border Patrol Puts Emergency Beacons In Desert

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Mar 5, 2009 1:14 pm US/Central

Border Patrol Puts Emergency Beacons In Desert

FALFURRIAS (AP) ― A pair of emergency beacons have been placed in South Texas to help stranded illegal immigrants as they try to head north from the border along a popular desert trail, the U.S. Border Patrol said.

The beacons, which sit along power lines on Brooks County ranchland east of U.S. Highway 281, are designed to alert authorities if an immigrant or anyone else finds themselves in distress in the rugged terrain.

"These beacons will be a way of gaining immediate medical attention or assistance," Border Patrol spokesman John Lopez said this week. "They will utilize them if they are in a dire need."

The two-story tall red steel posts are solar powered, with mirrors affixed to make them more visible during the day and lit up at night, Lopez said.

The beacons have instructions in English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, the most popular language dialect in China.

Border Patrol officials have already placed 18 beacons in the desert in Arizona

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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