Among the Mexico City Earthquake Victims: 21 Schoolkids

Toll tops 200 in country's strongest quake in decades
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 20, 2017 1:08 AM CDT
Updated Sep 20, 2017 4:33 AM CDT
School Collapse Killed at Least 25 in Mexico Quake
Volunteers bring pieces of wood to help prop up sections of the collapsed Enrique Rebsamen school, as rescue workers search for children trapped inside, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.   (AP Photo/Gerardo Carrillo)

Rescue operations are ongoing in Mexico, where authorities say the death toll from Tuesday's devastating 7.1 magnitude earthquake has risen to at least 224. The victims include at least 21 children and four adults killed in the collapse of the Enrique Rabsamen primary school in Mexico City's Coapa neighborhood, the Guardian reports. On Tuesday evening, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto visited the site, where rescuers occasionally paused their search to listen for voices in the rubble, the AP reports. The president said at least 30 children and eight adults are still missing.

In a video message released later Tuesday, Pena Nieto urged Mexicans to stay calm. "The priority at this moment is to keep rescuing people who are still trapped and to give medical attention to the injured people," he said. Civilian volunteers have joined rescue workers at many sites. Authorities say the quake collapsed at least 44 buildings in Mexico City alone, the Telegraph reports. It hit on the anniversary of a 1985 earthquake that killed thousands. Earlier in the day, workplaces and schools across Mexico City had marked the date by holding earthquake readiness drills. The US Geological Survey says the quake hit at 1:14pm with an epicenter in Puebla state, about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City (More earthquake stories.)

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