One person died and at least twelve were injured when a house in a Mexico City neighborhood collapsed this Saturday due to a strong gas explosion, the capital authorities reported.
The incident occurred in the Pensil Norte neighborhood, in the west of the Mexican capital, around 9.25 a.m. local time, and destroyed the two-story brick and concrete structure of the building, where an
estimated 60 people lived
.
As a result, the house collapsed and two other buildings were damaged, according to preliminary reports.
Around 70 people were evacuated from neighboring properties as a preventive measure.
An image from a drone shows the place of the explosion.Alex Cruz / EFE
Rescue personnel working with trained dogs found the body of the fatal victim in the rubble.
The capital authorities reported that it was
a woman of approximately 20 years
.
The city's head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum, confirmed that 12 were injured.
"Five of them have already been transferred to receive medical attention," he specified on his official Twitter account.
Sheinbaum also confirmed the death, but did not reveal the cause of the explosion.
However, the city's civil defense office reported that it
was
apparently
caused "by an accumulation of
LP
gas
(liquefied petroleum) inside the house."
A large part of the homes in Mexico use gas carafes for cooking.
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The official also reported that
a 31-year-old woman
was rescued from the rubble of the collapsed house
.
The firefighters, who are working in the area, asked the population not to approach to facilitate the rescue and cleaning tasks.
Sheinbaum pledged to support those affected by the blast.
"They will receive all the support they require," the official said at a press conference from the scene.
He explained that the authorities carry out a census of
the 22 families that lived in the adjoining building
.
"They are given temporary support and the houses will be rebuilt with the support of the Housing Institute," he said.
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The people who lost their homes, meanwhile, did not agree to go to a shelter, according to the official, so the capital government will support them with the payment of rent until their homes are rebuilt.
"They
are working people from the neighborhood, several families lived there
, I saw two neighbors, I managed to see that they came out alive," one of the neighbors told Milenio.
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The head of Civil Protection, Myriam Urzúa, estimated that a total of 60 people lived in the collapsed house, since it was a neighborhood.
With information from
The Associated Press
and
Agencia EFE
.