10 Dead, 60 Injured As Church Roof Collapses During Baptism Ceremony In Northern Mexico

At least 10 people died, including at least three children, after the roof of a church collapsed on Sunday afternoon in northern Mexico, reported BBC. The incident occurred when around 100 people were attending a baptism at Santa Cruz church in Ciudad Madero. Officials said around 60 people were injured and at least two of them sustained serious injuries. Dozens of people were also left trapped underneath the rubble. However, locals in the area immediately came to rescue the people with shovels and pickaxes on the site.

After the incident, search and rescue teams reached the location and two cranes have been removing the rubbles. Rescue workers used thermal imaging cameras to ensure no person remained under the rubble. Commenting on the matter, Tamaulipas’s governor said all those missing have been accounted for. 

Meanwhile, so far it is not clear what could have caused the collapse but the mayor of Ciudad Madero said it was probably due to “structural failures”, reported BBC.

Church priest Ángel Vargas, who was celebrating the baptisms when the collapse occurred, expressed regret over the incident. Vargas was quoted as saying by BBC: “They came to search for heaven for the little ones and found eternity. I want the families to find peace. All of this is unfathomable.”

Local journalist Franc Contreras also said, “People were lined up to take the communion – of course, that’s sort of the climax of the Catholic Mass – and that’s when the roof came down on top of them; bricks, concrete, and of course steel support structures coming down on top of the people.”

One of the survivors, Josefina Ramírez said she was attending the baptism of her godchild when the roof came down. “Thank God, I’m alive. I feared I would not see my beautiful family again. I don’t know how we got out,” said Ramírez on social media.