At least nine people were killed and forty others injured in Mexico on Sunday (October 1) when the roof of a church collapsed during mass in the city of Ciudad Madero, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, according to a new assessment of local government.
The state government security spokesperson reported on his X account (formerly Twitter) “nine dead and 40 injured”, adding that the figure is still subject to change. In an initial report, he announced that seven people had been killed.
A Red Cross member told Milenio television channel that rescuers’ work had ended and specialist teams were expected for a “final” search operation under the rubble. About 80 people were attending a baptism when the roof of the church suddenly collapsed, he said.
According to local media, at least 20 people remain trapped under the rubble of the industrial-style Santa Cruz parish church.
The accident occurred around 2:18 p.m. local time (10:18 p.m. in Paris) when, likely due to a structural failure, the upper part of the church collapsed, authorities said in a statement.
People still under the rubble
“We are experiencing a very difficult moment (…) the roof of a church collapsed during the celebration of the Eucharist,” said José Armando Alvarez, bishop of the diocese of Tampico, to which the church belongs, in a video broadcast on social networks. “At present, the necessary work is underway to evacuate those still under the rubble,” he added, without specifying the number of people affected.
The governor of Tamaulipas, Americo Villareal, deplored the tragedy on his X account (formerly Twitter). “The security and civil protection services are already managing the situation (…) they are on site to coordinate rescue operations,” he wrote.
Footage from Milenio television channel showed dozens of people trying to support part of the collapsed structure with poles, while others made their way through the rubble in search of survivors.
Rescuers, as they did during relief operations following the 2017 earthquake that shook central Mexico, raised their fists in the air to demand silence and identify possible cries of people trapped.
The area is surrounded by several ambulances, police and military personnel, as well as many people rushing around looking for family members who were in the church.
Messages were posted on social media asking for tools, such as hydraulic jacks or sledgehammers, to remove the debris.
Ciudad Madero is a municipality in southern Tamaulipas, on the Gulf Coast, with a population of just over 200,000
