A magnitude 7.1 earthquake stunned central Mexico on Tuesday, killing at least 217 people as buildings collapsed in plumes of dust. Thousands fled into the streets in panic, and many stayed to help rescue those trapped.
Desperate rescue workers scrabbled through rubble in a floodlit search on Wednesday for dozens of children feared buried beneath a Mexico City school, one of hundreds of buildings wrecked by the country's most lethal earthquake in a generation.
Among the twisted concrete and steel ruin of the Enrique Rebsamen school, soldiers and firefighters found at least 22 dead children and two adults, while another 30 children and 12 adults were missing, Mexican President Enrique President Peña Nieto said.
La solidaridad en Jojutla Morelos se ve pic.twitter.com/pYhlwVKwWi
— Anahí Ávila (@AnahiAvila) 19 Eylül 2017
Autoridades reportan al momento 45 muertos y varios edificios derrumbados. #TerremotoEnMexico #Mexico pic.twitter.com/pCZL1a2fHI
— Esther Hernández (@esterhernandezc) 19 Eylül 2017
Dozens of buildings tumbled into mounds of rubble or were severely damaged in densely populated parts of Mexico City and nearby states.
Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said buildings fell at 44 places in the capital alone as high-rises across the city swayed sickeningly, reports say.
Mexican President Nieto said that he had called for a National Emergency Committee to evaluate the situation, teleSUR reported.
The federal interior minister, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, said authorities had reports of people possibly still being trapped in collapsed buildings. He said search efforts were slow because of the fragility of rubble.
According to the National Seismological Service, the 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit 5 miles southeast of Atencingo in the central state of Puebla at a depth of 32 miles.
Power was cut to 3.8 million customers, the national electricity company CFE said. Officials warn the lack of power could complicate rescue efforts. Residents have been warned to turn off the gas, avoid using lighters and switch off the power. Shelters have been offered to house people who have lost their homes.
The quake hit only hours after many people participated in earthquake drills on the anniversary of the devastating quake that killed thousands in Mexico City in 1985. The disaster comes just days after an 8.1-magnitude earthquake left 98 people dead and thousands more injured and displaced in the southwestern state of Oaxaca.
Secretary of the Interior Miguel Angel Osorio Chong has advised people to leave buildings located in the areas hardest hit by the earthquake.
Highways have been closed due to the severe damage. The airport of Mexico City has resumed operations after briefly suspending all activities to assess damages to infrastructure. The earthquake also caused panic in hospitals in the capital. Patients are being evacuated from the hospitals affected by the quake.
School and university classes have been cancelled in Puebla, Mexico City, Guerrero and Veracruz. The Mexican football league has suspended upcoming matches. Cultural events have also been cancelled across the city.
Messages of solidarity have also flooded social media.
The Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, said: "Mexico can depend on Venezuela in this moment of difficulties and tragedies ... this is what solidarity is for, this is why we must be united."
Lenin Moreno, the president of Ecuador, said in a message on Twitter: "All our solidarity with the Mexican people and the president."
