At least ten people were killed and about 60 injured on Sunday in Mexico when the roof of a church collapsed during a baptism in the city of Ciudad Madero, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.
“Unfortunately we have had confirmation that ten people died, including five women, two men and three children,” Américo Villarreal, governor of Tamaulipas, told the press from the scene of the tragedy.
About sixty people received medical treatment, of whom 23 remain hospitalized. “Two suffer serious injuries and their vital prognosis is in danger,” he said.
Asked about the causes of the roof collapse, he indicated that, according to the parish priest, no failure had been detected in this industrial-style church built about fifty years ago.
About 80 people were attending a baptism when the roof of the Holy Cross parish church suddenly collapsed, a Red Cross volunteer said. A video captured by a neighborhood security camera was broadcast on social networks in which the moment in which the ceiling begins to crack and falls into the interior of the church can be seen.
The accident occurred around 2:18 p.m. local time, probably due to a structural failure, authorities said in a statement.
“We are living a very difficult time. The roof of a church collapsed during the celebration of the Eucharist,” said José Armando Álvarez, bishop of the diocese of Tampico, to which the church belongs, in a statement on social media.
Every Sunday was “special” because of the celebration of baptisms in the church, which was attended by entire families, Father Ángel Vargas, who was officiating in the church at the time of the tragedy, explained very emotionally to the 4C News channel.
“We join in prayer with the diocese of Tampico to ask the Lord to watch over our deceased and wounded brothers,” wrote the archbishopric of Mexico on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Images from the Milenio channel show dozens of people trying to hold up part of the collapsed structure with poles, while others made their way through the rubble in search of survivors.
Rescuers, as they did during relief operations after the 2017 earthquake that shook central Mexico, raised their fists in the air to demand silence and identify possible screams from trapped people.
Several ambulances, police and military personnel came to the area, as well as many people who ran in search of relatives who were in the church. Messages were posted on social media asking for tools, such as hydraulic jacks or sledgehammers, to remove the debris.
Ciudad Madero is a municipality in the south of Tamaulipas, on the Gulf Coast, with a population of just over 200,000 inhabitants.
