At least 10 people, including three children, were killed and 60 more injured when the roof of a church came crashing down on a baptism in northeastern Mexico on Sunday, authorities said.
The disaster struck the coastal town of Ciudad Madero, in Tamaulipas state, with a Red Cross rescuer telling local media that 80 people had been in attendance at the Santa Cruz parish when the roof caved in.
“Unfortunately, 10 people are confirmed dead. Of these, five are women, two men and three children,” Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal told reporters at the scene of the disaster.
Photo: AFP / Tamaulipas Civil Protection
Rescue workers were attempting to recover the body of a woman from the rubble, but the death toll was not expected to rise as all of the missing had been accounted for, he added.
At least 60 people were treated for injuries, the governor said, with 23 still hospitalized.
“Two have serious injuries, their lives may be in danger,” he said.
Church officials said a baptism was being celebrated when the ceiling collapsed.
“We are experiencing a very difficult moment ... the roof of a church has collapsed during the celebration of the Eucharist,” Jose Armando Alvarez, the bishop of the local diocese, said in a video on social media.
Earlier, ambulances, patrol vehicles, and police and military personnel had rushed to the site, in addition to numerous people in search of family members who were in the church.
Local media showed footage of dozens of people trying to hold up part of the collapsed structure with poles, while others combed through the wreckage looking for survivors.
In a scene reminiscent of earthquake recovery efforts, rescuers could be seen raising their fists in the air as a call for silence so that they might hear any calls for help coming from people stuck under the wreckage.
“Security and civil protection forces are already dealing with the situation ... to coordinate rescue plans,” Villarreal had said earlier on social media platform X.
Video footage reportedly from a nearby security camera appears to show the moment of collapse, as the church building disappears into a cloud of dust.
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