Roof of Mexican church collapses, killing 10 and injuring 60

Darryl Coote
·2 min read
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The roof of the Iglesia Santa Cruz Church in the city of Madero, Tamaulipas, collapsed Sunday afternoon, killing at least nine people. Photo courtesy of Secretary of Public Security Tamaulipas/Facebook
The roof of the Iglesia Santa Cruz Church in the city of Madero, Tamaulipas, collapsed Sunday afternoon, killing at least nine people. Photo courtesy of Secretary of Public Security Tamaulipas/Facebook

Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The roof of a Mexican Catholic church collapsed, killing at least 10 people and injuring 60 others, officials and authorities said late Sunday.

The incident at the Iglesia Santa Cruz Church in the city of Madero, Tamaulipas, which is located along the central Gulf coast of Mexico, occurred shortly before 2:20 p.m. Sunday, the state government said in a statement.

Officials had originally released a casualty toll of three dead and two injured but have increased those figures several times since amid ongoing rescue work, including early Monday.

Of those injured, 23 remained hospitalized early Monday, including two with serious injuries, officials said in a statement.

A list of some of the victims released by the city of Madero states that ages ranged from 4 months to 76 years old. Their conditions were unknown.

Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal (C) supervises search-and-recovery efforts and the site of a church collapse in Mexico's Madero city on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Government of Tamaulipas/Facebook
Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal (C) supervises search-and-recovery efforts and the site of a church collapse in Mexico's Madero city on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Government of Tamaulipas/Facebook

The Tamaulipas security spokesperson said on Facebook that canine units of the Red Cross have been deployed to scour the building as part of search-and-rescue efforts to find survivors buried under the church's rubble.

"I deeply regret what happened in the church of Santa Cruz in Cd. Madero," Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Villarreal's office late Sunday published photos of the governor at the scene of the incident, stating he was supervising rescue work.

Jose Armando Alvarez Cano, bishop of the local diocese, said in a statement that the roof collapsed during a baptism. City officials estimate that approximately 100 people were in attendance and that at least 30 of them became trapped, prompting first responders to be deployed.

"With hope we share that from below the rubble, thanks to divine providence and the work of rescue forces, people have come out alive!" the local diocese said in a statement on Facebook.