Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TRAIN CARNAGE17
23 killed and 70 hurt after Mexican rail overpass collapses on to road
US Editor
AT least 23 people were killed when a railway overpass and train fell on a busy road in Mexico City.
Another 70 were taken to hospital after the incident on one of the world’s busiest public transport systems.
At one stage rescue efforts had to be suspended amid fears a carriage might come crashing down.
“Unfortunately there are 23 deceased,” Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said.
“There are unfortunately children among the dead,” she added, without specifying how many.
She said emergency services did not know if people trapped inside the teetering car were alive.
Seven of the people transported to hospital were in a “grave condition” and undergoing surgery.
Local channel Milenio TV showed the overpass falling on a stream of cars as the train crossed it near the Olivos station at around 10.30pm on Monday.
Medics and fire crews rushed to the carriages before the scene was cordoned off. The army was also drafted in. Oscar
Lopez, 26, was searching for his friend, Adriana Salas, 26.
Six months pregnant, she was travelling home from work as a dentist and was not answering her phone.
He said: “We lost contact with her, at
10.50pm, there was literally no more contact.” Lopez said officials were “not telling us anything, and people are just crowding together”.
Another witness told TV network Televisa: “Suddenly I saw that the structure was shaking. When the dust cleared we ran... to see if we could help.
“There were no screams. I don’t know if they were in shock.”
Mayor Sheinbaum said it appeared a girder had given way on the overpass south-east of the city but the cause is being investigated.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and former mayor of Mexico City said it was “a terrible tragedy”, adding: My solidarity is with the victims and their families.”
The line is the network’s newest and opened in 2012 when he was in office.