Mexico’s civil defence agency has said the death toll has risen to 226 from Tuesday’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake that knocked down dozens of buildings in Mexico City and nearby states.
Twenty-two bodies were pulled from rubble at a school in Mexico City, while rescuers searched for a further 38 missing people at the site.
The official Twitter feed of agency head Luis Felipe Puente said early Wednesday that 117 people were confirmed dead in Mexico City, and 55 died in Morelos state, which is just south of the capital.
Mr Pena Nieto visited the school late on Tuesday and said in comments broadcast online by Financiero TV that 30 children and eight adults were still reported missing.
Rescue workers were continuing to search and listening for sounds from the rubble.
Earlier the head of Mexico’s civil defence agency said the nationwide death toll from Tuesday’s earthquake has risen to 149.
A man comforts a frightened student as he collects her from her school in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City (Rebecca Blackwell/AP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is saddened by the loss of life and damage resulting from the earthquake.
Mr Guterres extended his condolences to the government and people of Mexico and wished those injured a speedy recovery, according to a statement released by his spokesman.
A car lays crushed under the collapsed Enrique Rebsamen school in Mexico City (Carlos Cisneros/PA)
The statement said the UN stands ready to assist Mexico following the quake.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel