The Mexico City subway, one of the busiest in the world, suffered one of the most tragic accidents on Monday night since its inauguration half a century ago.
At least
23 people died and 79 were injured
after a section of the elevated track on which metro line 12 runs collapsed between Olivos and Tezonco stations.
The accident occurred shortly before 10:20 pm (local time) and emergency services immediately arrived to attend to the victims and to remove the collapsed train.
Commotion in Mexico City after the subway accident that left dozens dead and injured
May 4, 202 105: 01
"Unfortunately, there are children among the dead," confirmed, without specifying how many, Claudia Sheinbaum, head of Government of Mexico City.
Sheinbaum clarified in the morning conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that 79 people were transferred to different hospitals.
After the accident, line 12 of the metro will remain closed and
490 buses will operate to cover the service,
as announced
Sheinbaum, who detailed the facts after going to the scene of the event: "Unfortunately what happened was the expiration of a trabe (beam) when a convoy passed, all investigations will be carried out to find out the causes that caused this accident", explained.
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The Secretariat for Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection published the list of transfers to hospitals on its Twitter account:
The first video images published on social networks showed how two subway cars fell on the road where dozens of vehicles were currently circulating.
Image at the station of the two Mexico City Metro wagons collapsed on an avenue. Civil Protection Mexico
In a video of the cameras of the surveillance system of the Government of Mexico City, it is observed how
the elevated structure broke with the passage of the train, from a height of about 20 meters
, and two wagons of the convoy were hit against the ground.
The crash occurred on Tláhuac avenue where there was moderate traffic, just over a mile (about two kilometers) from the Periférico Oriente highway.
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[López Obrador promises an investigation "without regard" of the collapse of the metro in Mexico City: "Nothing will be hidden"]
Adrián Loa Martínez, 46, said his mother called him to tell him that his brother and sister-in-law were driving when the overpass collapsed and that beam fell on their car.
Martínez confirmed that his sister-in-law was rescued and sent to a hospital, but that his brother, José Juan Galindo, was crushed and feared he was dead.
"He is down there now," he told reporters pointing to the scene of the incident, according to the AP news agency.
Aerial view made with a drone that shows the collapse of the subway cars in Mexico City.EFE / Sáshenka Gutiérrez
Gisela Rioja Castro, 43, was looking for her husband, Miguel Ángel Espinoza, 42.
Castro explained that her husband always took that train after finishing work in a store, but that he had not come home and was not answering his phone.
When he found out what happened, he immediately feared the worst, but has received no information from the authorities.
"Nobody knows anything," he
said.
In video: The moment of the fatal collapse of a section of the subway in Mexico
May 4, 202101: 36
Residents of the area immediately criticized on social networks the repeated complaints they have been making about the poor condition of the structure that was damaged in the last major earthquake that Mexico City suffered in September 2017, although it is not clear that it had to watch.
Mexico City has the second largest subway system in North America, after the New York City subway.
The installation is part of the subway bridge built during the administration of Marcelo Ebrard, former head of government of the capital between 2006 and 2012, and now the country's chancellor.
The metro of the Mexican capital transports about 6 million people every working day
, which makes it one of the busiest in the world, although its demand drops during the weekend.
Various citizen organizations have criticized the precariousness of the facilities and the lack of maintenance that causes frequent interruptions in the metro service.
On January 9, a fire broke out in the control center of the Mexico City Metro, in the Historic Center, which caused one death and at least 30 intoxicated workers, in addition to six lines without service.
Rescue work on line 12 of the Mexico City metro.EFE
In addition, the metro in the Mexican capital has had at least two serious accidents since its inauguration half a century ago.
In March last year, a collision between two trains at the Tacubaya station caused the death of one passenger and 41 injuries.
In 2015, a train that did not stop in time crashed into another at the Oceania station, injuring 12 people.
The most serious accident was a collision at the Viaducto station in 1975, there were 31 dead and more than 70 injured, according to the newspaper El Universal.
The event occurred on the newest line of the Mexico City metro, line 12, which runs to the south side of the city.
Like many of the city's dozens of metro lines, it runs underground through more central areas of the capital, but then runs over elevated concrete structures on the outskirts of the city.
Marcelo Ebrard makes himself available to the authorities to clarify the subway accident
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The collapse could be a serious blow to Ebrard, who is seen as a potential presidential candidate in the 2024 elections.
Accusations of design flaws and poor construction on the metro line
emerged shortly after Ebrard left office. Mayor.
The line had to be partially closed in 2013 in order to repair the tracks.
"What happened today in the Metro is a terrible tragedy (...) Of course, the causes must be investigated and responsibilities defined," he wrote.
"I reiterate myself at the entire disposal of the authorities to contribute in whatever is necessary."
It is not yet known whether the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in 2017 could have affected the metro line.
With information from AP, EFE and Milenio.