Mexico City rail overpass collapses onto road, killing 20 people

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said on Twitter she was headed towards the scene of the accident.

By REUTERS

MAY 4, 2021 10:46

The site where an overpass for a metro partially collapsed with train cars on it is seen at Olivos station in Mexico City, Mexico, May 4, 2021 (photo credit: REUTERS/HENRY ROMERO) — The site where an overpass for a metro partially collapsed with train cars on it is seen at Olivos station in Mexico City, Mexico, May 4, 2021

(photo credit: REUTERS/HENRY ROMERO)

Twenty people were killed, including children, and 49 were hospitalized when a railway overpass collapsed onto a busy road in Mexico City on Monday night.

Rescue efforts for potential survivors were paused shortly after the accident, authorities said, because of the risk that more of the Metro overpass and train cars could slam down onto the road.

A video on local channel Milenio TV showed the structure plummeting onto a stream of cars near Olivos station in the southeast of the city at around 10.30 p.m. local time, sending up clouds of dust and rubble.

#ULTIMAHORAAsí el colapso en el #MetroCDMX en la estación Olivos de la Línea 12 cuando pasaba el tren, en Tláhuac.https://t.co/1aNtU3N8P8 pic.twitter.com/0bSmBDGu4Q
— @diario24horas (@diario24horas) May 4, 2021

PRECAUCIÓN: Ambulancias y bomberos en camino por accidente en la estación del metro Olivos, línea 12. ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/UFkcB1llju
— SUUMA Voluntarios (@SUUMA_CDMX) May 4, 2021

Other images showed at least two train carriages precariously hanging from the damaged overpass as emergency fire and medical crews initially used ladders to access the carriages

However, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said the rescue had been suspended "because the train is very weak."

A crane transported to the site was working to stabilize the train carriages so rescuers could resume their search to see "if there are more people inside the train car," she said.

Sheinbaum said a person trapped in their car underneath the rubble had been rescued alive and was taken to hospital. Seven of the people transported to hospital were in a "grave condition" and undergoing surgery, she said.

Sheinbaum said authorities were working to identify the people who were killed. She earlier said a total of around 70 people had been injured.

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Wearing a hard hat and face mask to speak to reporters at the accident site, Sheinbaum said it appeared a girder had given way on the overpass but the cause was being investigated.

The Metro 12 line that runs over the collapsed overpass was built almost a decade ago when Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard was mayor of Mexico City.

"What happened today with the Metro is a terrible tragedy. My solidarity is with the victims and their families," Ebrard said on Twitter. "Of course, the causes must be investigated and responsibilities defined."

Ebrard and Sheinbaum are seen by many political observers as the most likely successors to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador once his six-year term is over in 2024.