Mon 02 October 2023:
At least 10 people, including three children, were killed when the roof of a church collapsed in northern Mexico.
The collapse happened on Sunday afternoon, as around 100 people were attending a baptism, at Santa Cruz church in Ciudad Madero.
Sixty people were injured, and dozens were trapped underneath the rubble.
Three of the dead were children, may have been due to the fact, that baptisms were to take place at the church, authorities said.
According to the local journalist Franc Contreras that the collapse happened at a key moment in the service.
“People were lined up to take the communion – of course that’s sort of the climax of the Catholic Mass – and that’s when the roof came down on top of them; bricks, concrete, and of course steel support structures coming down on top of the people,” he said.
He added that according to Red Cross officials the roof came down on pews in the church, allowing the possibility that anyone trapped there could survive in air pockets.
Mexico church collapses during Sunday mass killing several people
People were lined up to take the communion – and that’s when, the roof came down on top of them. Local residents rushed to the building with shovels and pickaxes, to try to free those trapped. pic.twitter.com/KjexZ58qez
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) October 2, 2023
Photos published by local media showed what appeared to be a concrete and brick structure, with parts of the roof fallen almost to the ground. Security camera footage from about a block away showed the unusual, gabled roof simply collapsed downward.
Walls did not appear to have been blown outward, nor was there any indication of an explosion, or anything other than structural failure.
Photos distributed by state authorities showed the roof slab resting on the top of pews in some parts of the church. That left open the possibility there were air spaces for any survivors.
The governor of Tamaulipas has said that all of those missing have been accounted for. Rescue workers used thermal imaging cameras to ensure no one remained under the rubble.
Ángel Vargas, the priest who was celebrating the baptisms when the collapse occurred said that a day of celebration had turned into a tragedy.
“They came to search for heaven for the little ones and found eternity. I want the families to find peace. All of this is unfathomable.”
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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