The collapse of the roof of a church during a service on Sunday has left at least seven people death in northern Mexico, local officials said.
“Seven people are confirmed dead, and 10 injured people have been rescued” in the coastal town of Ciudad Madero, a spokesperson for the Tamaulipas state government said in a statement, adding that more people remained trapped.
It was reported by the local media that at least 20 people were still missing under the rubble and that the ceiling collapsed when baptism was being celebrated.
The government stated that the incident occurred in the early afternoon.
Thousands of people in the images broadcast on Milenio TV can be seen trying to hold up part of the collapsed structure with poles while others made their way through the wreckage in search of survivors.
“We are experiencing a very difficult moment… the roof of a church has collapsed during the celebration of the Eucharist,” the bishop of the local diocese Jose Armando Alvarez said in a video posted to social media.
