Volunteers to the rescue after Mexico quake
CLIMBING onto a pile of rubble that used to be a building may not seem the most obvious thing to do for someone who has just survived an earthquake.
But that is how thousands of Mexicans have reacted to the deadly 7.1magnitude quake that rocked the country Tuesday, killing more than 200 people.
Businessmen in ties, students in jeans, doctors in scrubs and other ordinary people from all walks of life have joined professional rescue teams in rushing onto and into the mangled remains of homes, schools and offices in Mexico City, desperately trying to reach survivors before it’s too late.
The outpouring of sympathy has been overwhelming – too much for the authorities to deal with at times.
Volunteer rescuers are now being turned away at many sites if they do not bring their own helmets. And appeals have gone out for residents of the capital to stop giving perishable food items and water, which have already been donated in abundance.
“Food is going to waste, we don’t need any more water. We have a list of medicines and supplies that we need instead,” a soldier at one site said.
Mexico’s impressive tradition of citizen solidarity can be traced back to September 19 1985 – 32 years to the day before Tuesday’s quake – when another massive earthquake devastated the capital, killing more than 10 000 people.
That same determination to band together to dig through the rubble and pull survivors from the wreckage was visible across Mexico City after Tuesday’s quake.
At a collapsed primary school on the capital’s south side, where 21 children were killed and several others are believed to be trapped alive, an untrained civilian volunteer took on a starring role in a rescue operation.
The slight man was able to squeeze into a channel through the rubble to reach a little girl and pass her water.
WhatsApp proved to be a vital means of communication. Residents used it to find their loved ones and warn others of danger zones.
Rescue workers said some victims had even been rescued thanks to messages they sent to relatives while trapped under the debris. – AFP