Heavy rains battered Nogales on Saturday, trapping three people in a wash and creating a sinkhole that shut down an entrance into the United States.
The three people were rescued and no other injuries were reported, though the vehicle lane damaged by the sinkhole, along with a pedestrian entrance, will be closed until repairs can be made.
Despite the damage, wait times to cross the border weren't seriously affected as the rest of the vehicle entrances remained open, said Brian Levin, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman.
Officials closed the Morley pedestrian entrance on Saturday evening when heavy flooding on the Mexican side caused extensive damage to the opening, according to an agency news release.
Not long after closing the pedestrian entrance, U.S. customs officials working the vehicle entry lanes heard cries for help coming from flood-control washes that run underground.
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After removing several grates above the washes, officials found a 27-year-old Mexican man pinned to a wall. They lowered a rope and pulled the man to safety, the release said.
Later in the evening, customs officials heard another call for help from the same wash and rescued two Mexican boys, ages 15 and 17.
Around 2 a.m. on Sunday officials had to close a vehicle lane leading into the U.S. when a sinkhole opened up about 30 feet south of the port, the release said.
A commercial bus was approaching the U.S. in a lane designed to speed up border crossings when it began to sink into the ground.
Passengers got off the bus, and the driver backed the vehicle away from the sinkhole, which was 10 to 15 feet wide, the release said.
The vehicle and passenger entrances will remain closed until the extent of the damage is known and repairs can be made.
