Earthquake flattens buildings in Mexico City, death toll rising (Updated)

Local media reported around 30 collapsed buildings in Mexico City from a 7.1-magnitude earthquake as the overall toll including surrounding areas reached 248, amid fears it could rise further.

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Afternoon update

Mexicans dig through rubble as quake toll rises

AP – Police, firefighters and ordinary Mexicans are digging frantically through the rubble of collapsed schools, homes and apartment buildings, looking for survivors of Mexico's deadliest earthquake in decades as the number of confirmed fatalities climbed to 248.

Adding poignancy and a touch of the surreal, Tuesday's magnitude-7.1 quake struck on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 earthquake that killed thousands. Just hours earlier, people around Mexico had held earthquake drills to mark the date.

One of the most desperate rescue efforts was at a primary and secondary school in southern Mexico City, where a wing of the three-story building collapsed into a massive pancake of concrete slabs. Journalists saw rescuers pull at least two small bodies from the rubble, covered in sheets.

A mix of neighbourhood volunteers, police and firefighters used trained dogs and their bare hands to search through the school's rubble. The crowd of anxious parents outside the gates shared reports that two families had received Whatsapp messages from girls trapped inside, but that could not be confirmed. The rescue effort was punctuated by cries of ``Quiet!'' so searchers could listen for any faint calls for help.

Noon update

Twenty-one children killed in Mexican quake-toppled school: gov't

AFP – At least 21 children were killed at an elementary school that collapsed in the Mexican capital when a powerful earthquake rattled the area on Tuesday, a government official said.

"We have a report of 25 dead, among them 21 children and four adults" at the Enrique Rebsamen elementary school, Mexican Undersecretary of Education Javier Trevino told the Televisa network.

Morning story

Earthquake flattens buildings in Mexico City, death toll rising

Mexico City, Sept 20, 2017, AFP – Local media reported around 30 collapsed buildings in Mexico City from a 7.1-magnitude earthquake, with at least four confirmed deaths in the capital, as the overall toll including surrounding areas reached 138 (revised upward to 149 by the Associated Press and to 248 by CNN at 13:00 our time), amid fears it could rise further.

Authorities asked for help from volunteers and for water. Some police officers came through the crowd carrying containers of water.

Medics set up makeshift field hospitals in the streets, treating people for broken limbs and crush injuries.

When the earthquake hit, it sent panicked people running into the street but many weren't so lucky. The dust settled minutes later to reveal a landscape of flattened buildings and rubble in the heart of Mexico City.

After the screams and the shock, people quickly set to work digging for survivors.

Several buildings were completely flattened in Roma, popular for its bars and restaurants and one of the neighbourhoods hit hardest by the 1985 earthquake that shattered large swathes of this city and killed at least 10,000 – 32 years ago to the day.

Frightening scenes of building collapses and other destruction

Amid the tears and terror, there were small victories.

Cheers and applause echoed around the crowded Calle Alvaro Obregon in Roma as rescuers managed to pull someone from under the rubble.

There remained a sense that such moments would be rare, however.

In other buildings in the same area, volunteers joined the authorities to remove debris. One of them held a sign with the word "silence" in order to be able to hear people who may still be alive.

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