No Child Trapped in Rubble of Mexican Quake-Hit School, Officials Say
- 7 years ago
No Child Trapped in Rubble of Mexican Quake-Hit School, Officials Say
21, 2017
After a day in which Mexico was captivated by frantic rescue operations to reach a girl believed to be trapped beneath
the rubble of a collapsed elementary school, officials said Thursday that they believed there was no girl there.
Officials have opted not to use heavy equipment to remove debris as long as there was still hope of finding survivors,
and as an added precaution, rescuers were using wooden scaffolding to prevent rubble from falling onto the site of the collapse.
The parents of children at the school had descended on the site, some climbing trees and playground equipment to get a better view of the operation, in hopes
that their children would be pulled alive from the rubble.
He said that 11 children from the Enrique Rébsamen school in southern Mexico City had been rescued and
that 19 had died, but no students were believed to still be trapped inside.
Angel Enrique Sarmiento, undersecretary general of the Mexican Navy, said
that all the children from the school, which fell during a devastating earthquake on Tuesday, had been accounted for.
But even as rescuers and held out hope that they would find survivors, the remains of those killed in the collapse were still being recovered.
At one point, officials said there were signs that a girl was alive and was speaking to rescue workers who were trying to reach her.
21, 2017
After a day in which Mexico was captivated by frantic rescue operations to reach a girl believed to be trapped beneath
the rubble of a collapsed elementary school, officials said Thursday that they believed there was no girl there.
Officials have opted not to use heavy equipment to remove debris as long as there was still hope of finding survivors,
and as an added precaution, rescuers were using wooden scaffolding to prevent rubble from falling onto the site of the collapse.
The parents of children at the school had descended on the site, some climbing trees and playground equipment to get a better view of the operation, in hopes
that their children would be pulled alive from the rubble.
He said that 11 children from the Enrique Rébsamen school in southern Mexico City had been rescued and
that 19 had died, but no students were believed to still be trapped inside.
Angel Enrique Sarmiento, undersecretary general of the Mexican Navy, said
that all the children from the school, which fell during a devastating earthquake on Tuesday, had been accounted for.
But even as rescuers and held out hope that they would find survivors, the remains of those killed in the collapse were still being recovered.
At one point, officials said there were signs that a girl was alive and was speaking to rescue workers who were trying to reach her.