new quake shakes traumatized mexico city
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

New quake shakes traumatized Mexico City

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today New quake shakes traumatized Mexico City

A crane removes concrete stairs as rescuers pause
Mexico City - AFP

A new earthquake sowed panic in Mexico City on Saturday, forcing a brief pause in rescue operations to free survivors from the more powerful tremor this week that devastated parts of the capital.

The latest quake, with a magnitude of 6.1, was smaller and further south than the 7.1-magnitude one that struck on Tuesday, killing more than 300 people and toppling 39 buildings in the capital.

As an alarm sounded, hundreds of startled residents raced out into the street, some barefoot, some carrying children.

Trauma from the previous quake was evident.

"Oh God, have mercy," exclaimed Teresa Martinez, 74, who stood in the street with other women, all crying.

Two women died of heart attacks as they tried to leave their homes, according to local media reports. One was in her 80s and the other was 52, according to the website of the daily Reforma.

Authorities said two people also died in the quake in the southern state of Oaxaca, where the epicenter was located.

A bridge collapsed near the town of Juchitan, Oaxaca, already hit hard by a September 7 quake that killed nearly 100 people. Some buildings with previous damage collapsed.

In a jittery Mexico City, the quake made buildings sway, but some didn't notice.

"This time, we didn't feel the ground move... maybe since the last one we're getting used to them," said Pablo Martinez, who had run out of his apartment building with his six-year-old daughter in his arms.

- Elevated risk -

The new tremor sparked concern it could have caused heavy rubble on top of survivors awaiting rescue in the capital to shift -- posing a danger both to those trapped and to rescuers.

Rescue crews quickly evacuated five sites in the capital where they had been working.

They hesitated for a couple of hours, discussing the added risk, before going back in to look for survivors.

Mexico City's mayor, Miguel Angel Mancera, told Televisa television that around "30 people may yet be able to be found in this search and rescue operation."

So far, 69 people have been pulled alive from the rubble in Mexico City, according to authorities.

"We've been told they have detected areas with life. They've sent in dogs and the dogs have indicated life," Paola Solorio, a 35-year-old who had three relatives trapped, told AFP.

But the smell of decaying bodies wafting out from the buildings four days after the quake presaged grief for some relatives. Rescue workers wore face masks to shield themselves from the odor.

Still, they refused to give up hope.

"We're here to save lives. You have to have faith and believe (the people inside) are in a place with access to air and managed to survive," said Karin Kvitca, a 29-year-old with an Israeli rescue crew.

- Race to find survivors -

Anxious families have been holding vigils at the flattened sites, urging exhausted emergency workers to keep trying.

"A lot of time has passed. But we won't give up," said the head of the civil protection service, Luis Felipe Puente.

"Time has gotten the best of us. There are structures that are very complicated to access. But we're going to keep fighting for the families," he told Televisa.

Many Mexicans remember "miracle" rescues a week after a 1985 quake that killed more than 10,000 people in the capital, spurring hopes that some might yet be pulled out alive.

Yet psychologists dispatched to the scene were already preparing to help relatives deal with tragic news.

"The families are still hopeful, but we psychologists are starting to prepare ourselves to counsel them in the context of mourning," said Penelope Exzacarias.

- Rising death toll -

The latest death toll stands at 305, of which more than half -- 167 fatalities -- were in Mexico City.

The rest of the deaths occurred in the states of Morelos, Puebla, Mexico, Guerrero and Oaxaca.

In the south of Mexico City, at a flattened school where 19 children died, relatives and neighbors had placed wreaths of white flowers.

Families were starting to hold funerals. One of the first was that of Gabriel Morales and Agueda Mendoza, a married couple found locked in embrace under the rubble, along with their dog Quino.

Elsewhere, Japanese rescuers removed their helmets and bowed before a recovered body, rescuers sang the Mexican national anthem after concluding work at a building and a volunteer joked with a young woman pulled from the rubble that she would have to invite his crew to dinner.

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

new quake shakes traumatized mexico city new quake shakes traumatized mexico city

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

new quake shakes traumatized mexico city new quake shakes traumatized mexico city

 



GMT 11:28 2017 Saturday ,15 April

President Al-Bashir's visit to Kuwait and Bahrain

GMT 07:51 2017 Sunday ,26 November

HRH Crown Prince condoles with Egyptian President

GMT 14:35 2018 Friday ,12 October

Bahrain's media history documentation hailed

GMT 11:45 2017 Friday ,29 December

10 bodies found in mass grave in Myanmar

GMT 08:44 2016 Monday ,19 December

Hopeless Afghan struggle to save boy sex slaves

GMT 15:15 2013 Friday ,05 July

I breathe freedom in Jordan

GMT 12:55 2016 Sunday ,18 December

Kerry in likely last visit with Saudi king

GMT 05:49 2017 Wednesday ,24 May

Indian police make arrests after mobs lynch 8

GMT 12:12 2017 Sunday ,19 February

More South Sudanese officials quit unity gov't

GMT 09:25 2017 Wednesday ,09 August

Ghada Abdel Raziq prefers exciting drama

GMT 15:03 2017 Saturday ,14 October

HM King congratulates French President

GMT 22:10 2017 Wednesday ,03 May

Boosting Bahraini-Czech relations discussed

GMT 12:43 2017 Thursday ,30 November

Saudi prince freed in 'billion-dollar deal'

GMT 03:55 2017 Friday ,17 November

Al-Hilal's Eduardo looking to lead from the front

GMT 03:26 2017 Saturday ,18 November

Tesla's all-electric semi truck
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday