At least 23 people have died after an overpass in Mexico City collapsed, splitting a train into two and leaving it hanging dangerously over a road.
According to Mexico City’s Mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum, at least 65 people have also been hospitalized after the accident. She added that seven of the people transported to hospital were in a “grave condition” and undergoing surgery.
Mayor Sheinbaum also disclosed that some minors were among those killed, without specifying how many.
“There are unfortunately children among the dead. A support beam gave way just as the train passed over it”.
Rescue efforts for potential survivors were briefly paused at the overpass after the accident, with authorities saying there was a risk that more train parts and debris could slam down onto the road. At least one car has been buried by rubble, according to authorities.
The Mayor, however, revealed that a crane was being transported to the site to stabilize the train carriages so rescuers could resume their work.
She also noted that there were still people trapped inside the train but it was unclear if they were alive.
Images circulating from the scene of the accident showed at least two train carriages hanging dangerously from the damaged overpass as emergency fire and medical personnel initially used ladders to access the carriages.
Police kept people away from the immediate site of the disaster where rescue teams were working.
Crash should be investigated
In the wake of the accident, Mexico’s Foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard – the city’s former mayor – tweeted,;“What has happened on the metro today is a terrible tragedy.”
“Of course, the causes should;be;investigated;and those responsible should be;identified. I repeat that I am entirely at the disposition of authorities to contribute in whatever way is necessary.”
Meanwhile, friends and relatives of people believed;to be;involved gathered at the scene waiting for updates from rescuers.
Oscar Lopez, 26, told reporters that he;was;hoping for news of his friend, Adriana Salas, who is six months pregnant and was on the train after a day at work. According to him, she was talking on the phone with her mother on the train, when contact was;suddenly lost.
He said there had been no answer from her since the time of the incident.
“We lost contact with her… The police and paramedics don’t tell us anything”.
Another relative, Adrián Loa Martínez, 46, said that his mother;called him to tell him that his half-brother and sister-in-law were;driving when the overpass collapsed and a beam fell onto their car.
He added that his sister-in-law was;rescued and sent to a hospital. However, his half-brother, José Juan Galindo, was crushed and feared dead.
“He is down there now,” he told reporters.
The Mexico City Metro, one of the largest and busiest in the world, has had at least two serious accidents in the past decade.
In March 2020, a collision between two trains at the Tacubaya station left one passenger dead and injured 41 people.
Also, in 2015, a train that did not stop on time crashed into another at the Oceania station, injuring 12 people.
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