According to local authorities, at least seven people were murdered in Mexico on Sunday when a church’s roof collapsed.
“Seven people are confirmed dead, and 10 injured people have been rescued” in the northeastern coastal town of Ciudad Madero, a spokesperson for the Tamaulipas state government said in a statement.
The catastrophe, which happened in the early afternoon, left several individuals stranded, and rescue operations were in progress.
According to local media, a baptism was being performed when the ceiling of the Santa Cruz parish collapsed, and at least 20 persons were lost under the debris.
“We are experiencing a very difficult moment… the roof of a church has collapsed during the celebration of the Eucharist,” the bishop of the local diocese Jose Armando Alvarez said in a video posted to social media.
“At this moment they are doing the necessary work to save the people who are still under the rubble,” he added, without providing more details.
Given that there were about 80 people there when the roof collapsed, a Red Cross rescuer told Milenio Television that the death toll was probably going to go up. He said that by evening, the crew was awaiting the arrival of specialist equipment to carry out a “final search” beneath the rubble.
On the television, scores of people could be seen attempting to prop up a portion of the collapsed building with poles while others combed through the debris in search of survivors.
Rescuers could be seen raising their fists in the air as a call for silence so they might hear any cries for aid coming from persons trapped under the wreckage, in a sight reminiscent of earthquake recovery efforts.
“Security and civil protection forces are already dealing with the situation… to coordinate rescue plans,” Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The moment of collapse, as the church edifice vanishes into a cloud of dust, is purportedly captured on video by a neighboring security camera.
The Archdiocese of Mexico posted a message on social media offering condolences, saying “We join in prayer with our sister diocese Tampico to intercede for our killed and injured brothers.”
Locals posted requests for tools to help with the rescue effort on social media, including hydraulic lifts, wood, and hammers.
A little over 200,000 people live in the Gulf of Mexico coast city of Ciudad Madero.
