Preliminary report blames construction failures for deadly Mexico City metro collapse

A structural failure caused by at least six serious construction errors caused the collapse of a section of Line 12 of the Mexico City metro in May, in which at least 26 people died, according to the preliminary accident report presented by the municipal government in a press conference this Wednesday.

The document, prepared by the Norwegian company DNV at the request of the capital's government, reports

multiple problems with the screws, beams and planks used in the structure

. 

It further describes in detail deficiencies with the welding of a specific type of screw, Nelson bolts, which

were not fused as they should have been to prevent them from eroding with water and use.

There are no known causes or persons responsible one month after the tragedy in the Mexico City metro

June 3, 202101: 48

He also points out that bolts were missing in the beams that make up the bridge, that different types of concrete were used, and that some welds were not completed or were poorly made.

The report clarifies that information on the repairs carried out after the end of the construction works, as well as on the daily maintenance tasks at that point of the subway, still needs to be analyzed.

The DNV company maintains that its objective, beyond clarifying the causes of the incident, is to

determine if there are systemic problems to prevent them from recurring in other sections of the metro. 

On May 3, shortly before 10:20 p.m. (local time), an elevated bridge of Line 12 collapsed between the Olivos and Tezonco stations, causing one of the greatest tragedies of this means of transport in Mexico. .

AP

At least 26 people died and almost a hundred were injured.

The head of the capital's government, Claudia Sheinbaum, then promised a thorough investigation to understand what happened. 

Noticias Telemundo Investiga had access to a report published in May 2019 that the Congress of Mexico City entrusted to the management of the metro on the delays in the service and the administrative and financial status of the entity. 

The metro of the Mexican capital transports about six million people every working day, and is 

one of the busiest in the world.   

But several citizen organizations have criticized the precariousness of the facilities and the lack of maintenance that causes frequent interruptions in the service of the metro.