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Mexican Death Toll Hits 248

Rescue crews and ordinary citizens searched through rubble for survivors as night fell on Tuesday in Mexico City as the death toll from the massive … Continue reading Mexican Death Toll Hits 248


Rescue crews and ordinary citizens searched through rubble for survivors as night fell on Tuesday in Mexico City as the death toll from the massive quake was revised up to 248.

The magnitude 7.1 quake toppled dozens of buildings, broke gas mains and sparked fires less than two weeks after another powerful quake killed at least 98 people in southern Mexico. In the Mexico City suburb of Chimalpopoca, emergency officials searched through rubble for possible survivors after a local factory collapsed.

Emergency personnel in Mexico City, a metropolitan region of about 20 million people, searched frantically with picks and shovels for survivors beneath the rubble of what the sprawling city’s mayor calculated to be as many as 44 collapsed buildings, including at least one primary school.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto addressed the nation, outlining rescue efforts in the country.

Earthquakes of magnitude 7 or above are regarded as major and are capable of causing widespread heavy damage. Another 11 aftershocks were registered after the initial quake at around lunchtime on Tuesday, the most powerful of which measured 4.9, according to the USGS.