A powerful 7.1 earthquake has jolted central Mexico leaving scores of people dead and causing the collapse of hundreds of buildings.
READ MORE: Over 200 dead as powerful 7.1 earthquake destroys buildings in central Mexico
20 September 2017
Mexico’s Civil Protection Agency has lowered the death toll to 216, the agency’s head Luis Felipe Puente said on Twitter.
The death toll from Mexico’s earthquake continues to rise, as the National Civil Protection Agency said at least 248 people been killed by the disaster.
The biggest losses were reported in Mexico City (117), followed by the state of Morelos (72) and the city of Puebla (43). Casualties were also reported in the states of Mexico, Guerrero and Oaxaca.
Mexico’s Civil Protection Agency said that the death toll has reached 226, including 117 in Mexico City.
The death toll in Mexico’s earthquake has risen to 224, Interior Minister Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong said, as cited by local media.
Mexico’s Education Secretary, Aurelio Nuño, confirmed that at least 30 people, most of them children, lost their lives after the elementary school collapsed in southern Mexico City, he told Imagen Televisión. Eleven people were rescued from under the rubble. Nuño added that rescuers aided by volunteers will continue to search for survivors.
Twenty children and two adults died in a destroyed elementary school in Mexico City, Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, told FORO TV, as he visited the school. Thirty children remain uncounted for, he added.
The rescue operation, which is under way at the school’s premises, is continuing into the night.
A total of 11 aftershocks had been registered by 8.30pm local time [1:30 am GMT] following the quake, the most powerful of them measuring 4-magnitude, Mexico’s National Seismological Service reported on Twitter.
Major Mexican telecommunications providers izzi, Telcel and mobile telephone operator AT&T Mexico announced on Twitter they were offering free of charge services to help those affected stay in touch.
The death toll from the quake has climbed to 149, the head of Mexico’s National Civil Protection Service, Luis Felipe Puente, reported.
Fifty-five people were killed in the state of Morelos, while quake claimed 49 lives in the capital, Mexico City, and 32 in the neighboring state of Puebla. Ten people died in Edomex state and another three people in Guerrero.
At least eight children and a teacher were killed in the collapse of a three-story elementary school building in Mexico City. Eleven children remain trapped under the debris, Universal reports. Rescuers have so far managed to pull out 24 children alive.
The US announced it is ready to provide assistance to Mexico if requested, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Mexico affected by today’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake and other recent natural disasters,” the statement reads.
The number of people affected by the power shutdowns as a result of the quake has risen to 4.6 million, Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission reported. The commission claimed it has managed to restore 60 percent of the disabled services.
After the collapse of a seven-story factory in central Mexico City, dozens of people are believed to be trapped under the rubble.
"There are about 100 people trapped in there," the chief of a group of relief workers at the site told Imagen Radio TV.
Police sealed off the perimeter of the factory while the rescuers are searching for survivors. Volunteers are helping to clear up the debris.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the UN “stands ready to assist” Mexico while expressing condolences to the victims.
“He extends his condolences to the government and people of Mexico and wishes those injured a speedy recovery,” he said in a statement, issued by spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
Al momento se reportan 139 f
The death toll has risen to at least 139 people, the head of Mexico’s National Civil Protection Service, Luis Felipe Puente, wrote on Twitter.
“Currently, there are 139 deaths reported: 64 in Morelos, 36 in Mexico City, 29 in the state of Puebla, nine in State of Mexico and one in the state of Guerrero,” he wrote.
19 September 2017
The Interior Ministry announced on Twitter it has imposed a state of emergency to deal with the 7.1-magnitude earthquake.
Meanwhile, the death toll has risen to 134, according to Reuters citing officials.
Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said at least 30 people had died in the capital, with some 44 buildings collapsing in the quake.
Mexican officials have now placed the number of deaths at 119, according to Reuters.
Officials say the central Mexico quake death toll has now reached 93, reports Reuters. The state of Puebla, where the epicenter of the quake struck, saw at least 26 deaths, according to its governor.
At least 79 people are now dead following Tuesday's earthquake, according to Spanish news agency EFE. The majority of fatalities - 54 have been reported in the state of Morelos.
The Mayor of Mexico City is urging people to use the Facebook Safety Check feature to let their family and friends know they are safe.
The death toll in the state of Mexico is now at nine, according to Governor del Mazo.
At least 60 people are now reported dead following the devastating earthquake. The highest death toll was in Morelos state, just south of Mexico City, where 42 people were reported dead.
In the capital itself at least four people were killed. Eight people have been reported dead in the state of Mexico while civil protection authorities recorded six deaths in Puebla state, according to Reuters.
The Federal Electricity Commission said at least 3.8 million of its customers are affected by electricity supply interruptions following the quake.
Governor of the state of Mexico, Alfredo del Mazo, said the death toll in his state has risen from five to eight.
Mexico City International Airport resumed operations at 4 pm local time.
Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera has confirmed at least four deaths in Mexico City, according to Reuters.
US President Donald Trump expressed solidarity with the people of Mexico City on Twitter.
At least 27 buildings have collapsed in Mexico City, according to Reuters, citing President Pena Nieto
At least 42 people are dead in the state of Morelos, according to Governor Graco Ramirez.
5 people are now reported dead in the state of Mexico, Governor Del Mazo said. This brings the total reported death toll up to 49.
National Coordinator of Civil Protection of the Ministry of the Interior, Luis Felipe Puente, however, said on Twitter that the official death toll stood at 44.
Shocking footage of building collapses have been shared online.
Two people were killed in the central state of Puebla after a school collapsed, according to a civil protection official. This brings the confirmed death toll so far up to 4.
Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said there were no reports of deaths yet in the capital but that some people were trapped in burning buildings.
President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto has called a meeting of the National Emergency Committee to assess the situation.
He said on Twitter that he was en route to Oaxaca in central Mexico but will immediately return to Mexico City.
At least two people are dead in the state of Mexico according to the Governor Alfredo Del Mazo as reported by Reuters.
State oil company Pemex says it has activated security protocols at its facilities
A civil protection official said that various fires had been reported in buildings following the quake and people were believed to be trapped inside.
Mexico City International airport has suspended operations according to the head of Mexico emergency services.
Thousands of people are reportedly fleeing onto the streets in Mexico City’s main boulevard in panic. Traffic came to a standstill as a mass of people blocked streets.
Buildings have been seriously damaged however there have been no reports of injuries. Images from the scene show collapsed building fronts and rubble lining the streets.
Puebla Governor Tony Gali confirmed on Twitter that buildings were damaged in his state. He said towers of some churches had fallen in the city of Cholula - famous for its many churches.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the 7.1 magnitude quake was near the town of Raboso, about 76 miles (123 kilometers) southeast of Mexico City.
The quake hit only hours after many people participated in earthquake drills around the nation to mark the anniversary of a devastating quake that killed thousands in Mexico City in 1985.