Ten Dead As Mexico Church Roof Collapses; Rescuers Search For Survivors

Rescuers are still looking for survivors after a church roof collapsed in northern Mexico killing at least 10 people, three of whom were kids.

Around 100 people were witnessing a baptism at the Santa Cruz church in Ciudad Madero on Sunday afternoon local time when the building collapsed.

At least two of the sixty injured were critically hurt, while many more were trapped under the debris. Locals hurried to the structure carrying pickaxes and shovels to release the trapped people. Since then, search and rescue crews have reached the area, and two cranes are there to clear the rubble.

According to the Tamaulipas governor, everyone who was reported missing has been located. Rescuers checked under the rubble with thermal imaging equipment to make sure nobody was still there.

Although the cause of the collapse is not yet known, the mayor of Ciudad Madero stated that “structural failures” were most likely to blame.

The priest who was officiating the baptisms when the building collapsed, Ángel Vargas, declared that a day of celebration had become 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.”

The breakdown occurred at a crucial point of the ceremony, according to local journalist Franc Contreras on the BBC World ceremony’s Newsday program.

“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 continued by saying that Red Cross authorities claimed the roof of the church collapsed onto the pews, giving those trapped within a chance to survive in air pockets.

One of the survivors shared details of her experience on social media.

Josefina Ramrez claimed that she had been at her godchild’s baptism when the roof collapsed.

“Thank God, I’m alive (…) I feared I would not see my beautiful family again (…) I don’t know how we got out,” she wrote.

According to local media, one of the imprisoned individuals was able to send a WhatsApp message, which enabled rescuers to locate him.

A toddler and a couple with their eight-year-old son were reportedly among those who perished, according to the Mexican newspaper Milenio. The church’s local bishop announced that he was praying for the victims on behalf of the Tampico diocese.