#englishnews #Mexicochurchroofcollapses
News Article :-
The roof of a church has collapsed in northern Mexico 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 about 100 people were in the church at the time of the collapse.
The state security spokesperson’s office said late Sunday that nine people had been confirmed dead from the collapse, which it described as likely being caused by “a structural failure”.
Tamaulipas state police said units of the National Guard, the state police and state civil defense office and the Red Cross were involved in the operation.
The Mexican Council of Bishops issued a statement saying: “We join in prayer at the tragic loss of life and those injured.”
Bishop José Armando Alvarez of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tampico said the roof caved in while parishioners were receiving communion at the Santa Cruz church in the Gulf coast city of Ciudad Madero, next to the port city of Tampico.
The diocese later posted a list of about 50 people who had been hospitalised as a result of the accident, including a four-month-old baby. There was no immediate information on their conditions.
“From underneath the rubble, thanks to divine providence and the work of the rescue teams, people have been pulled out alive!” Alvarez’s diocese wrote in a statement posted on it social media accounts. “Let’s keep praying!”
He also 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.
Photos published by local media showed what appeared to be a concrete and brick structure, with parts of the roof fallen almost to the ground. Security camera footage from about a block away showed the unusual, gabled roof simply collapsed downward.
Walls did not appear to have been blown outward, nor was there any indication of an explosion, or anything other than structural failure.
Photos distributed by state authorities showed the roof slab resting on the top of pews in some parts of the church. That left open the possibility there were air spaces for any survivors.
“At this time, the necessary work is being performed to extract the people who are still under the rubble,” Alvarez said in a taped message. “Today we are living through a very difficult moment.”
Video distributed by the state civil defence office showed the outer edges of the roof propped up by short wooden blocks.
It also showed initial efforts to lift off parts of the collapsed roof closer to the ground, in the centre of the church, with a crane. But the office said the efforts to li
