NEWS DESK
Death toll has gone up to 61 in one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Mexico struck off the country’s southern coast, toppling hundreds of buildings and sending panicked people fleeing into the streets.
President Enrique Pena Nieto yesterday said in a televised address that 61 people were killed – 45 in Oaxaca state, 12 in Chiapas and 4 in Tabasco. He said, at least 200 people have been injured. He declared three days of national mourning in the respect of the dead and bereaved.
Elsewhere, the extent of destruction was still emerging. Hundreds of buildings collapsed or were damaged, power was cut at least briefly to more than 1.8 million people and authorities closed schools Friday in at least 11 states to check them for safety.
A huge rescue operation is under way in the worst-hit states of Tabasco, Oaxaca and Chiapas where people are feared trapped under rubble. Soldiers and other rescuers are scouring severely-hit areas, where many buildings lie in ruins.
The worst-hit city was Juchitan, on the narrow waist of Oaxaca known as the Isthmus, where 36 quake victims died. About half of Juchitan’s city hall collapsed in a pile of rubble and streets were littered with the debris of ruined houses.
The quake that hit minutes before midnight Thursday was strong enough to cause buildings to sway violently in the capital city, more than 1,000 kilometers away from the epicentre of the quake.
The furious shaking created a second national emergency for Mexican agencies already bracing for Hurricane Katia on the other side of the country.
PHOTO: aristegui noticias
