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Updated 8.05am
A GAS TRUCK blew up outside a maternity hospital in Mexico City today, killing at least two babies, injuring dozens and trapping others after the building crumbled.
Rescuers with dogs scoured the rubble of the Maternity and Children’s Hospital in the Cuajimalpa borough for people who were stuck following the huge blast, which rocked the neighbourhood.
Officials gave various death tolls throughout yesterday but overnight, Health Secretary Armando Ahued said a nurse and two babies were killed. He said the nurse and one baby died instantly, while the second child died later in another hospital. He added that 73 people were injured and nine babies were in delicate condition.
The Red Cross said nine babies were taken to three hospitals in the capital.
Relatives of survivors recounted how some mothers saved their babies.
Jose Eduardo Manriquez, 22, came out smiling from the Enrique Cabrera hospital, where his wife and newborn son were taken after the blast. They were both doing well.
“My wife grabbed the baby, turned over and the ceiling fell on her. It didn’t hurt her,” he said, adding that she complained of chest pains, which doctors attributed to gas inhalation.
His wife was rescued by a police officer and she walked out of the rubble barefoot.
Jose Miguel Venegas, 30, visited his 26-year-old wife and third son, who was born Wednesday night.
“She protected the baby. She held him in her arms and the ceiling fell on top of her,” Venegas said, adding that she suffered face injuries.
Israel Santiago, a 29-year-old security guard, had a similar story.
My wife says that the roof fell where she was. But luckily she was trapped between the bed and the crib with the boy in her arms. She protected him.
Neighbours recounted smelling a strong odour of gas and then hearing an explosion that shattered house windows and caused doors to slam.
Adults with bloodied faces were rushed into ambulances.
***
Around three-quarters of the building collapsed after the blast, which took place at around 7am after workers were unable to control a pipe leak, Mancera said.
Mancera told MVS Radio that the zone was evacuated “for safety because a lot of the people are babies in the crib area.”
The newborn emergency care area was among those hit, said Adrian Rubalcava, president of Cuajimalpa borough. He said 100 people were in the building at the time of the tragedy.
The truck’s three operators were detained, and two of them were in hospitalised, Mancera said. Their employer was identified as Nieto Express, which has serviced the city since 2007.
‘Big bang’
Neighbours recounted smelling a strong odor of gas and then hearing an explosion that shattered house windows and caused doors to slam open.
Adults with bloodied faces were rushed into ambulances. Relatives waited for news outside a security cordon and the smell of gas remained strong in the area.
“I’m waiting for information about my niece who gave birth yesterday (Wednesday),” said the woman’s aunt, Martha Catellanos Nunez.
We are desperate. We know nothing.
Ivan Rodriguez, 28, said he was at home with his brother next to the hospital and thought an earthquake had hit the city.
“I went into the bathroom while my brother was sleeping. Suddenly I heard a big bang,” he told AFP. “The house’s doors opened as if they were kicked open and I shouted: ‘Let’s go, it’s trembling!’”
An employee at a primary school said children were sent home after the explosion.
“It smelled like gas before the explosion,” she said.
Mancera said firefighters were allowing the tanker fire to continue to empty the gas, and that it is under control.
- © AFP 2015.
First published 29 January
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Well done lads. People homeless and good educated kids leaving the Country in the thousands and all they worry about is a prayer. Well Trump will have the last laugh on these politicians and I hope he recinds the invite for Paddys Day to them
@linda o keeffe: The opposition,that’s why they lost the election.
@Gerard Mahady: top comment 100% the invasion and erosion of our culture and land by Islam enabled by our liberal left government and opposition and sure we the people are all far right better watch what we say especially after the Garda bugging of journalists in our so called democracy freedom of speech will be a distant memory
@Gerard Mahady: They’d introduce it, if they could!
@I’m a robot Robot: we have established right wing parties only very recently. They are very inexperienced and it will take a few years for people to trust them handling our problems. It will inevitably happen where we will get an actual right wing party. Next election will definitely see a growth in right wing parties popularity. 8 years time there will be a right wing party in charge no doubt. Just look across Europe. Reform UK were established recently, and didn’t get voted in because people didn’t trust them handling the money because of their inexperience. Now Nigel Farge is favourite to be the next prime minister of the UK. (Check Paddy Power). Right wing parties are winning in Sweden, Austria, Denmark, US, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany, Italy, Poland etc. It’s inevitable thankfully
@Joe Willis: reply meant for David
Nope!!!!
@Dman: why not?
@Darius Guppy: Why change it? The country didn’t vote for the opposition.
@Daniel Roche: Ridiculous comment and how did the opposition get elected, osmosis?
It would be much better if the state took the church to court for the hundreds of millions, still owed, to the people of Ireland for what happened to our citizens.
@Jimmy Donovan: That will get silence guaranteed Mr Donovan ,many moments me thinks.
@Jimmy Donovan:
Hundreds of Millions from where? What do you thinks the market values of cathedrals, monasteries and churches are? Mostly negative equity considering the maintenance costs.
We are facing dangerous times and this . Please don’t waste our time with nonsense. The best can can be managed are compensation schemes, which mean the we the taxpayers pay, for state negligence 50 + years ago. BTW these compensation /redress schemes should be out, they are totally abused with false and exaggerated claims
@Antony Stack: The Vatican Bank ,I believe they are quite liquid ,maybe there ,what you think before we start selling Cathedrals?
Excellent. No place for religion in politics
@FoxyBoiiYT: The opposition lost the election.
@FoxyBoiiYT: NO Place for any religion in these times. It’s easy to start a Cult!
@Daniel Roche: You must be a detective?
A prayer gets first headline over TD’s declaring any additional income & liabilities !!
.
Let us pray.
@Tom: Praying? While Homeless people haven’t a prayer of getting a roof over their head’s! Beautiful Hypocrisy Isn’t!???
Half their time is spent governing themselves, and the other half is spent solving the problems of other countries.
What a shower of wasters.
Good to see they’re focusing on the important things ffs.
At last. They are really getting something done up there…….
@Oh Mammy: yes, they have loads to do and prayer is a waste of time. They don’t need a moment of reflection either, it’s codswallop.
None of the above ideas will ever come to fruition. All I can see is the moment of reflection being brought in. As your asking a Minister to be held accountable, your making me laugh writing this. As it’s the Civil Servants who are wasting money like the OPW – Office of Professional Wasters
If that part of our culture and heritage can go so can the Irish language.
@Vincent Alexander: Religion is forced on people…NO getting away with that. Look at the Apologies the RCC had to say about Native Canadian People. And THAT is not that far back in History.
@Mick Hanna: So is the Irish language being forced on people currently.
Honestly can’t believe they pray in the Dáil. Such anachronistic nonsense
Tackling the big issues
Since they came back, they’ve elected a not so new taoiseach, had a week off, then decided to have a big hullabaloo over the. Irish language and proposed a moment of reflection to t replace a prayer. Have they done anything worthwhile since the Dail recovered?
SInn Fein in progressive vestments again. it used to be said the the quality of a government was due to the quality of the opposition. The Middle East and Ukraine are existential threats to everybody including us and this is SF’s big issue. A party which has dome it’s best to overthrow the state for 100 years so that they can start a Hamas inspired war with UK. WIle failing to notice the mayhem in the streets casued by their own failure to defend Ireland
Praise the Lord.
This is still a Christian Country..Found by..fought for by christians so hzve some respect and Say your prayers Before Dail sittings…
A BUNCH OF PAGANS THEY CANT PRAY OR GOVERN
@Thomas Brophy: Really not fair on Pagans
It easy understand why people reelected the last government because the state of this opposition is unbelievable. They continue with stupid irrelevant clap trap about the most stupid rules and regulations.
@Tim Brennan: Tim, not nice, but dim the gift that keeps on giving. Stay off the sauce, Brennan.
About time.
Form a committee to discuss the remit of the committee and which snouts are in the trough. Do anything and everything to suit the new waves of the death cult fawning hamas loving brigade.
have your say