The roof of a church has collapsed in northern <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/mexico">Mexico</a> during a Sunday mass, killing at least nine people and injuring about 50, authorities said as searchers probed the wreckage late into the night looking for survivors and other victims.
Approximately 30 parishioners were believed to have been trapped in the rubble when the roof caved in, officials said. Searchers crawled under the roof slabs and officials brought in dogs to help search for possible survivors.
The Tamaulipas state police said that about 100 people were in the Santa Cruz church at the time of the collapse.
Bishop José Armando Alvarez of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tampico said the roof caved in while parishioners were receiving communion.
“From underneath the rubble, thanks to Divine Providence and the work of the rescue teams, people have been pulled out alive!” Bishop Alvarez’s diocese wrote in a statement posted on it social media accounts. “Let’s keep praying!”
Forty people were hospitalised as a result of the accident. Those injured include a four-month-old baby, three five-year-olds and two nine-year-olds. There was no immediate information on their conditions.
Bishop Alvarez called on anyone who had wood to donate to bring it to the church, apparently to shore up the roof while rescue teams crawled inside.
Tamaulipas state police said units of the National Guard, the state police and state civil defense office and the Red Cross remain at the scene seeking to rescue victims.
Footage on social media showed the moment the church roof caved in, with puffs of grey smoke billowing into the air, followed by the toppling of yellow brick outer walls.
The roof appeared to be made of poured concrete and photos distributed by state authorities showed the massive roof resting on the top of pews in some parts of the church. That left open the possibility there were air spaces for any survivors.
Building collapses are common in Mexico during earthquakes, but the National Seismological Service did not report any seismic activity strong enough to cause such damage at the time of the collapse. Nor was there any immediate indication of an explosion.
Ciudad Madero is about 310 miles south of Brownsville, Texas. Tamaulipas is known for drug cartel violence, but Ciudad Madero is in the southern part of the state near neighbouring Veracruz state and has been less touched by the violence.
<em>(Getty images)</em>
