Mexico City earthquake – Rescuers battle to save children trapped beneath rubble of school that collapsed during quake which killed 273
BRAVE rescue workers last night continued their battle to find children buried beneath a collapsed school in Mexico.
Over 30 children were missing following the collapse of Enrique Rébsamen primary school following the powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake which ripped the country killing at least 273 and injuring 1, 900.
Hundreds of students and staff members were inside the building when it collapsed during Tuesday’s earthquake. So far 21 children and five adults were found dead in the rubble.
One of those trapped, a 13-year-old girl, was thought to be sheltering under a table.
More than 500 members of the army and navy joined 200 Mexican police officers and volunteers joined in rescue efforts to find those missing in Mexico City’s southern Coapa district.
Hopes among rescuers were raised after a girl was discovered alive in the debris of the primary school.
The wiggling fingers of a youngster pinned down by the rubble brought relief to rescuers on Wednesday morning as she responded to their questions.
The girl, said to be called Frida Sofia, was still trapped hours later and had not been rescued despite frantic efforts. The next day authorities said they now doubted the child was ever there as officials said no child of that name was registered at the school.
Last night rescue groups prematurely celebrated rescuing two young students from Rébsamen primary school.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto declared three days of mourning for the victims and dubbed the search for survivors as “a new national emergency.”
He said: “Every minute counts to save lives.”
“The priority at this moment is to keep rescuing people who are still trapped and to give medical attention to the injured people.
He also announced three days of national mourning in honour of the victims of the tremor which fell on the anniversary of the country’s 1985 earthquake that killed at least 10,000.
At least 209 schools were affected by the quake – 15 of which have suffered severe damage – after a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake ripped through Mexico City and surrounding states.
Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said this morning a total of 115 people died in the capital, before it rose to 137.
That would bring the nationwide death toll to 273, based on an earlier federal government report counting 100 deaths in the capital and putting the overall number of confirmed deaths at 230.
Yesterday a man was pulled alive from the rubble of a partly collapsed apartment block after more than 24 hours after Tuesday’s quake.
However last night heavy rain in the area threatened to add instability to collapsed school floors that are already struggling to be held up with hundreds of wooden beams.
Some relatives said they had received Whatsapp message from two girls inside the school.
Pedro Serrano, a 29-year-old doctor, was one of the ordinary Mexicans who had volunteered to join the rescue effort. He crawled into a crevice amid the tottering pile.
“We dug holes, then crawled in on our bellies,” Serrano said.
With barely room to move, he wriggled deeper into the wrecked school.
“We managed to get into a collapsed classroom. We saw some chairs and wooden tables,” Serrano said. “The next thing we saw was a leg, and then we started to move rubble and we found a girl and two adults a woman and a man.”
Prime Minister Theresa May said her “thoughts and sympathies” were with all those affected by the earthquake.
“The UK Government is in close contact with the relevant authorities and we are ready to provide support in any way that we can,” she said in a statement.
“We are working to identify and support any affected British nationals as the recovery effort continues.”
At least 50 people have been pulled alive from the rubble all over the city after heroic efforts from locals and rescue workers in the city.
After the devastating quake locals were seen using shopping carts from a nearby supermarket to help carry the rubble in a Mexico City.
Shocking footage shows buildings swaying side to side in the city as officials say the quake would have been felt by at least 30 million.
Medics set up makeshift field hospitals in the streets, treating people for broken limbs and crush injuries.
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Many people lay on stretchers, with doctors holding strips of cardboard boxes over victims’ heads to protect them from the sun
“Awful. I think it was one of the strongest we’ve felt. I don’t know what magnitude, but it was awful,” said Pedro Cruz Martinez, a public servant cradling his little girl, after joining the rush of fearful parents to a local school.
Immediately after the powerful quakes struck dozens of people began to scrabble with bare hands to remove rubble from collapsed buildings as they waited for help.
Amid the shock some cheers and applause echoed around the crowded Calle Alvaro Obregon in Roma this morning as rescuers managed to pull someone out from under the rubble.
Brit Amy Poulton was caught up in the carnage.
She said: “I’ve been told that because the epicentre is near to Mexico City so there will be aftershocks.
“So I’m a little bit nervous about being on the second floor at least it’s a floor lower than I was for the first earthquake and I’m a little bit more prepared now.
“But the city is a ghost town, I’m walking around trying to find somewhere to eat.
“I’m going to try and get some food and try and get some sleep then tomorrow might look into trying to leave the city because it looks like everything is going to be closed for a few days and I don’t being around when the aftershocks come.”
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Incredibly the tremor came just hours after citizens had staged a drill on the anniversary of a 1985 quake which killed 10,000.
Terrified locals fled to safety during the panic some with memories of the devastating quake 32 years ago.
Lists of people still missing have been posted on buildings which collapsed in the powerful tremors, as worried relatives can do nothing but wait.
More than 11 aftershocks have been registered with the strongest reaching magnitude.
At least 230 people have been killed, including 55 in Morelos, 49 in Mexico City, and 32 in Puebla state.
15 people were reportedly killed when a church on the slopes of a volcano – which appeared to have a small eruption following the earthquake – collapsed during a mass.
This earthquake comes less than two weeks after another powerful quake caused 90 deaths in the country’s south.
US President Donald Trump shared his condolences tweeting: “God bless the people of Mexico City. We are with you and will be there for you.”
Local resident Georgina Sanchez said: “I’m so worried. I can’t stop crying. It’s the same nightmare as in 1985.”
The US Geological Survey say the 7.1 earthquake was too far from the 8.1 quake that struck the country 11 days ago to be treated as an aftershock.
Incredibly, expert surgeons continued open-heart surgery on a nine-year-old girl even as a huge earthquake rocked their hospital.
A hospital statement revealed that the doctors were five hours into the operation when the quake hit at midnight, but that they had no choice but to continue if they were to save the unnamed girl’s life.
The statement went on: “Protocols and emergency services were activated properly, patients, relatives and staff on the first and second floor were evacuated while on the rest of the floors, people were told to go to the secure areas.”
Head of the specialised medical unit Guillermo Careaga Reyna explained that the girl was suffering from an infection caused by a graft put in her heart five years ago to fix a congenital heart problem.
He added: “The team of surgeons, nurses, anaesthesiologists and technicians were calm during the surgery, even during the earthquake and kept on going.”
The patient’s mother Jessica Hernandez thanked the medical team continuing to work despite the incredibly difficult conditions.
The girl is still recovering in the intensive care unit.
Images from the scene show collapsed buildings and cars covered in debris.
Local media reports say one of the collapsed buildings is a large parking garage alongside a hospital.
One hospital was so overrun by admissions it began to treat patients in the street.
Resident Alfredo Aguilar, 43, said: “The quake was really strong, buildings started to move. People just started to run.”
One video shows the side of a government building crumbling and falling into the street as bystanders scream and head for shelter.
The Mexican capital is home to over 20million people and is one of the world’s biggest cities.
The quake’s epicentre was around 76 miles southeast of Mexico City.
The US Geological Survey has put the quake at a 7.1 magnitude while Mexico’s Seismological Institute said it measured it as a 6.8.
The institute says the epicentre was seven kilometres west of Chiautla de Tapia, in the neighbouring state of Puebla.
The country was rocked by a mammoth 8.1 quake just 11 days ago killing at least 90 people dead.
The country sits atop several large tectonic plates, making it prone to quakes.
A HISTORY OF MEXICO'S DEADLY QUAKES
September 7, 2017: Measured at a strength of 8.2, this quake is more powerful but less deadly than the one 32 years ago that killed thousands. Around 100 people are killed and more than 200 hurt, with the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas most affected. The quake is felt as far north as Mexico City – about 500 miles from the epicentre.
January 21, 2003: A 7.6-magnitude quake shakes the western Pacific coast, killing 29 people and injuring more than 300.
September 30, 1999: At least 22 people are killed in a 7.5-magnitude quake that strikes southern and central areas.
June 15, 1999: A 7-magnitude quake kills at least 25 people in the central Puebla region.
October 9, 1995: Measured at 8, this earthquake hits the western states of Colima and Jalisco, leaving at least 48 dead. In the town of Manzanillo alone, around 30 people are killed when a seven-storey hotel collapses.
September 19, 1985: One of the most powerful ever in the country, this 8.1-strong quake kills at least 10,000 people in Mexico City, though some estimates put the toll as high as 30,000. The epicentre is 350 kilometres from the capital, large sections of which are razed.
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