An elevated section of the metro in Mexico City collapsed late Monday.
The metro car was sent plunging toward the busy street below around 10:25 p.m. At least 23 people died, and 70 more were injured, authorities said.
THREE DEAD AND 27 RESCUED AFTER SUSPECTED SMUGGLING BOAT OVERTURNS OFF SAN DIEGO COAST
“A support beam gave way,” as the train passed over it, said Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, according to the Associated Press. “There are unfortunately children among the dead.”
BREAKING: Train overhead track collapses in Mexico City; several people reported trapped pic.twitter.com/oz1TghLM4M
— BNO News (@BNONews) May 4, 2021
Nearly 50 people who were injured during the collapse were hospitalized, and seven were in serious condition.
“At this moment, we can’t speculate about what happened,” Sheinbaum added. “There has to be a deep investigation, and whoever is responsible has [to] be held responsible.”
The overpass on the Line 12 rail is about 16 feet off the ground, which was opened in 2012 in the capital’s southeast, according to La Jornada.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who was mayor of Mexico City when the rail was built, called the crash a “terrible tragedy” and said, “The causes must be investigated and responsibilities defined.”
Mexico City’s subway system handles more than 4 million passengers a day, making it the second-largest behind only New York City in all of the Americas.
There had been speculation about the safety of the elevated tracks following an earthquake that hit in September 2017.
Video from the scene of an overpass collapse in Mexico city shows the aftermath of a deadly train crash. https://t.co/hkoFsYTJym pic.twitter.com/xGHfL48wuh
— ABC News (@ABC) May 4, 2021
