at least nine dead when church roof collapses during mass

The accident occurred in the middle of mass. At least nine people were killed and 40 others injured on Sunday, October 1, in Mexico when the roof of a church collapsed in the city of Ciudad Madero, in the state of Tamaulipas, located in the northeast of country. In an initial report, the local government security spokesperson announced that seven people had been killed.

A Red Cross member said the work of rescuers had ended and specialist teams were expected for a search operation “final” under the rubble, on the Milenio television channel. About 80 people were attending a baptism when the roof of the church suddenly collapsed, he said. According to local media, at least 20 people are trapped under the rubble of the Santa Cruz parish church.

The accident occurred around 2:18 p.m. (local time) when, presumably due to a structural failure, the upper part of the church collapsed, according to authorities. The governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villareal, visited the site “to support rescue operations”he writes on his account. “We are going through a very difficult moment (…) the roof of a church collapsed during the celebration of the Eucharist”for his part reacted José Armando Alvarez, bishop of the diocese of Tampico, to which the church belongs, in a video posted on social networks.