MEXICO CITY: A church roof collapsed during a baptism in northeastern Mexico on Sunday, killing 10 people including children and injuring dozens more, authorities said.
The disaster struck the coastal town of Ciudad Madero, in Tamaulipas state, when about 70 people were attending the service at the Santa Cruz Catholic Church, according to officials.
“Unfortunately, 10 people are confirmed dead. Of these, five are women, two men and three children,” Americo Villarreal, governor of Tamaulipas, told reporters at the scene of the disaster.
All of the missing had been accounted for, he said.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed his condolences to the relatives of the dead.
The tragedy had generated “a lot of solidarity from the people,” he said at his regular morning news conference.
At least 60 people were treated for injuries, Villarreal said, with 23 still hospitalized.
“Two have serious injuries. Their lives may be in danger,” he said.
Church officials said a collective baptism was being celebrated when the ceiling collapsed.
“We are experiencing a very difficult moment,” the bishop of the local diocese, Jose Armando Alvarez, said in a video posted to social media.
Earlier, ambulances, patrol cars, and police and military personnel had rushed to the site, in addition to numerous people in search of family members who were in the church. Local media showed footage of dozens of people trying to hold up part of the collapsed structure with poles while others made their way through the wreckage in search of survivors.
In a scene reminiscent of earthquake recovery efforts, rescuers could be seen raising their fists in the air as a call for silence so they might hear any calls for help coming from people stuck under the wreckage.
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