Tucson border helicopter crews rescue hundreds from Harvey flooding

PHOENIX — Customs and Border Protection helicopter crews stationed in Tucson have helped rescue about 250 people in Texas so far from flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey.

“Hurricane Harvey is just nonstop. It doesn’t seem like it wants to let up,” Alexander Zamora, an air enforcement agent with the department’s Air Marine Operations, said.

“I’ve never seen so many people on their roofs or wading through water needing help as I have on this trip.”

Zamora said he and 17 other agents have been leapfrogging their way across the state, working first in San Angelo before moving on to San Antonio and Houston.

“We’re trying to make our way to the center point of all the damage and all the flooding,” he said. “We’ve progressively been getting closer.”

Zamora said his crew has been flying over neighborhoods looking for people on their roofs. He said he would fly one or two circles around an area and wait, hoping that people in need heard his Black Hawk helicopter.

“We’re going with the mindset that, now that they’ve heard us, people will start to come out onto their roofs and then we’ll be able to get to them and rescue them,” he said. “That’s been working out pretty well so far.”

But that doesn’t mean rescues were limited to those on top of their homes.

“I just finished flying [Tuesday] morning … and we actually came across people that were just wading in the water. There were no boats in sight,” he said.

“Typically, I think we might let the boats come up and take care of (them) but there were no boats in sight so we lowered our rescue swimmer and he got everyone together and we actually pulled those guys into the aircraft.”

Zamora said his crew has worked with anyone and any agency who may need help.

“Anyone out here who is waving us down, we’re working with,” he said.

Zamora, who also helped save people after Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana in 2008, said there was still much to do in Texas and he doesn’t plan to sleep in his own bed anytime soon.

“We don’t have a foreseeable end to when we’re leaving here … the agents have not even talked about it,” he said. “They have not even considered it as an option.”

KTAR News’ Martha Maurer contributed to this report.

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