Mexico earthquake – Desperate Whatsapp messages sent by girl trapped inside collapsed school after earthquake leaves 248 dead
A STUDENT trapped in the rubble of a collapsed Mexico City school sent desperate Whatsapp messages to her mum begging to be rescued.
The girl, identified only as Fatima, told her mum: "I'm fine, I'm with four other children trapped, help us, we're thirsty" about six hours after the massive earthquake struck.
The youngster was buried underneath concrete and rocks at Enrique Rebsamen elementary school, where at least 21 children and four adults were killed.
The building pancaked in the 7.1 magnitude quake that rocked Mexico City last night, killing at least 248 people.
Her message was sent six hours after the initial crush and sparked renewed hope for her mum identified only as Perla, reported.
Through tears she exclaimed: "My daughter is alive, help her please, for the love of God, she is alive!"
Other relatives also claimed to have received messages from loved ones trapped in the rubble, as emergency personnel worked through the night to rescue anyone who may have survived.
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.
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"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.
"None of them were alive. The rescuers left them there. There was no way to get them out.
Asked if there was hope, Serrano looked weary but said workers were still trying.
"We can hear small noises," he said. "We don't know if they're coming from above or below from the walls above (crumbling), or from someone below calling for help."
The work continued through the night, as pickup trucks loaded with volunteer rescuers with shovels and pickaxes sped through the darkened streets of the capital.
Occasionally, searchers at the school would ask for silence so they could listen for signs of life.
The volunteers stopped passing wooden shoring beams and buckets of rubble and became quiet.
Silently, they held their fists in the air in a gesture of hope, solidarity and resilience.
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."
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