More than 200 rescue workers have been dispatched from Jalisco to Mexico City to help in the grim task of searching for survivors from Tuesday’s deadly earthquake that toppled hundreds of buildings in the capital and surrounding states.
The bulk of the team is comprised of Guadalajara metro-area firefighters and Jalisco Red Cross emergency personnel. A number of trained sniffer dogs have also made the trip.
The 7.0 earthquake struck around 1:15 p.m. on Monday, September 19, on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 quake that devastated the capital and claimed some 10,000 lives. Remarkably, just two hours earlier, thousands of citizens had participated in emergency drills and evacuations of buildings in exercises that are traditionally carried out on this day of remembrance.
The quake’s epicenter was near the town of Raboso, Puebla about 122 kilometers southeast of Mexico City, at a depth of 51 kilometers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Although the quake was felt in some parts of Jalisco, no damage has been reported in the state.
The death toll at midday Wednesday stood at around 225. There are 94 known fatalities in Mexico City, 71 in Morelos, 43 in Puebla, 12 in the State of Mexico, four in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca.
At least 100 buildings fell in the capital, according to reports. Rescue teams and private citizens worked throughout the night Tuesday and early Wednesday digging through the rubble – with their bare hands at times – of collapsed buildings in the search for survivors.
Neighbors pitched in, forming human chains to remove debris and keeping rescue workers supplied with water and nourishment.
Intense efforts were made to find children buried in the debris of the Enrique Rébsamen elementary school that partially collapsed in Mexico City's southern Coapa district. Authorities have confirmed that 21 children and four adults died at the school, while 28 are still missing.
More than 200 schools were affected by the earthquake, with 15 sustaining major damage, according to Mexico's education secretariat (SEP).
Among neighborhoods worst affected were the affluent Roma and Condesa colonias, where a number of buildings collapsed and many are uninhabitable or too dangerous to return to.
Several nations sent immediate material assistance, including Israel and Panama. U.S. President Donald Trump quickly tweeted his condolences and offer of help, as did Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Mexico City-Acapulco toll road was also affected by the quake.
Presient Enrique Pena Nieto declared three days of national mourning and ordered all national flags to be lowered to half mast. He was on his way to Oaxaca when the quake struck, and he ordered the presidential plane to be turned around immediately to head back to the capital. The Mexico City airport suspended operations for several hours after the quake.
In a nationwide address Tuesday evening after visiting rescue efforts at several sites, Pena Nieto said the most urgent task is to search for survivors and attend to the medial needs of the injured.