MEXICO CITY — At least 23 were killed, including children,
and 65 were hospitalized when a railway overpass collapsed onto a busy road in
Mexico City on Monday night.
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Rescue efforts for potential survivors were paused shortly
after the accident, authorities said, because of the risk that more of the
Metro overpass and train cars could slam down onto the road.
A video on local channel Milenio TV showed the structure
plummeting onto a stream of cars near Olivos station in the southeast of the
city at around 10.30pm local time, sending up clouds of dust and rubble.
Other images showed at least two train carriages
precariously hanging from the damaged overpass as emergency fire and medical
crews initially used ladders to access the carriages.
However, Mexico City Mayor
Claudia Sheinbaum said the rescue
had been suspended "because the train is very weak". A crane was
being transported to the site to stabilize the train carriages so rescuers could
resume their work, she said.
Sheinbaum said seven of the people transported to hospital
were in a "grave condition" and undergoing surgery. She earlier said
a total of around 70 people had been injured.
Wearing a hard hat and face mask to speak to reporters at
the accident site, Sheinbaum said it appeared a girder had given way on the
overpass but the cause was being investigated.
The Metro 12 line that runs over the collapsed overpass was
built almost a decade ago when
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard was mayor of
Mexico City.
"What happened today with the Metro is a terrible
tragedy. My solidarity is with the victims and their families," Ebrard
said on Twitter. "Of course, the causes must be investigated and
responsibilities defined."
Ebrard and Sheinbaum are seen by many political observers as
the most likely successors to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador once his
six-year term is over in 2024.
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