Mexico church: 9 dead, 20 trapped after Tamaulipas roof collapse

Nine people are reported to have been killed and some 20 others trapped after a church roof collapsed in Mexico on Sunday (1 October). After the roof of a church came crashing down this incident happened, local officials said.

According to local media stated that 49 people were taken to hospital, after the roof of Ciudad Madero's Santa Cruz church fell in.

Police in the coastal state of Tamaulipas said around 100 people were at a mass at the time of the collapse. Local media reported it was a baptism.

A number of children are believed to be amongst those trapped and rescue efforts are ongoing.

Meanwhile images on social media showed the church building in ruins as people crowded around the rubble, desperately searching for those who were trapped inside.

Local journalist Franc Contreras told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme that the collapse happened at a key moment in the church service.

He said-"the church was packed with about a hundred people, and people were lined up to take the communion - of course that's sort of the climax of the Catholic mass - and that's when the roof came down on top of them; bricks, concrete, and of course steel support structures coming down on top of the people."

He added that according to Red Cross officials the roof came down on pews in the church, allowing the possibility that anyone trapped there could survive in air pockets.

People were said to be arriving with shovels and pickaxes to try to move the debris.

Later posts showed the emergency services were at the scene, following the collapse on Sunday afternoon.

Calls were made on social media for medical and rescue materials to help those searching for survivors.

Authorities were said to be requesting silence from those gathered at the scene so that they could hear if anyone trapped inside was calling for help.

The bishop of the diocese of Tampico, José Armando Álvarez Cano, sent a message to the community on social media saying that work was under way "to find those under the rubble".

He said it was a "difficult time" and ended his video address by saying: "May the Lord help you."

A Red Cross rescuer told Milenio Television that the death toll was likely to rise, as there were approximately 80 people in attendance when the roof caved in, adding that by nightfall the team was waiting for specialized equipment to arrive in order to complete a "final search" under the rubble.

BBC