An overpass holding a subway train collapsed in Mexico City on Monday. At least 23 fatalities were recorded, including children, according to local government officials.
At least 65 people were admitted to the hospital. Seven of them are in grave condition, stated Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
Mexico City Overpass Collapse
Many train carriages plunged to the ground. They crushed at least one car, which was on a bustling road underneath. Firefighters and rescue workers are searching for survivors following the accident in the capital, reported BBC.
Footage on Mexican television and social media displayed train cars hanging in mid-air as sirens sounded nearby. A video on Milenio TV showed the overpass collapsing onto vehicles on the road underneath, reported The Guardian.
According to the Mexico City mayor at the scene, a support beam gave way. She remarked a beam broke down just as the train passed over it.
A crane was working to balance one subway car left dangling on the crumbled section. This is for emergency workers to enter to check the vehicle to see if any individual remains trapped. According to Sheinbaum, a motorist had been pulled alive from a car that was confined on the roadway underneath, reported CBS News.
According to Mexico's Secretariat of Risk Management and Civil Protection, the train was traveling on a risen part of Mexico City's rapid transit system on the newest Line 12, also known as the Golden Line. This was when part of the overpass disintegrated onto traffic underneath.
As shown by the CCTV surveillance footage, the overpass crumbled onto the street. This sent up a cloud of debris and dust. Mexico City's Interior Minister Alfonso Suarez Del Real remarked the incident transpired at 10:25 PM local time.
Footage has surfaced, displaying the overpass disintegrating at the Olivos station on the Metro's Line 12. Local residents had reported cracks in the subway overpass following a fatal 2017 earthquake.
A video displayed firefighters and emergency medical crews combing through the accident scene in search of survivors. According to Sheinbaum, "firefighters, public safety personnel are working. Various hospitals attending. We will give more information shortly."
The mayor earlier stated one of the victims was in a car below the collapsed metro overpass. The victim is alive at a hospital.
Dozens of rescuers are still combing through the wreckage. The number of children who were victims was not specified.
Rescue efforts were temporarily halted previously in the night because of concerns over the subway car's stability. It was still dangling over the road.
According to Mexico's El Universal newspaper, transport authorities made repairs after the reports. There are concerns that the fatality toll could increase further as some people may remain to be trapped below the rubble.
The structure was built when foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard was Mexico City's mayor. He said what transpired with the Metro is a "terrible tragedy."
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