The Santa Cruz church in Ciudad Madero, Northern Mexico experienced a catastrophe on Sunday, October 1 when its slender concrete roof collapsed during mass. The incident led to nine fatalities and at least 50 injuries.
Three among the fatalities were children, and many of the victims were youngsters, due to scheduled baptisms on that day. At the time of the collapse, the church was accommodating about 100 parishioners.
Early assessments point out the cause of the disaster was likely a structural failure, and not an explosion. Security camera visuals from a neighboring location support this hypothesis, showing the roof collapsing inwards.
Through the daunting night, rescue operations were conducted by a joint team from the National Guard, state police, state civil defense offices, and the Red Cross.
Bishop José Armando Alvarez of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tampico reported that those assembled were receiving communion when the sudden collapse occurred.
Following the disaster, Bishop Alvarez asked the local community to donate wood to help stabilize parts of the unsteady, collapsed roof, to safeguard the rescue teams at work. Local media images show a jumbled pile of crushed concrete almost at ground level. It’s hoped that pockets of air within the rubble might offer hope for survivors to be found.
