At least 50 injured as Mexico City Metro bridge collapses
Mexico City, May 3 (EFE).- At least 50 people were injured when a bridge on the elevated track of Mexico City’s Metro at Olivos station collapsed Monday night and two wagons fell on a busy avenue.
Mexico City Government Secretary Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real, said casualties are being transferred to hospitals in Tlahuac and Iztapalapa and that no deaths had been reported as of publication time.
The first video images show how two subway cars fell on the road where dozens of vehicles were circulating at the time.
Emergency services immediately arrived to attend to victims and remove the train.
“Going to the site of the incident on line 12. I’ll report soon as I arrive,” Mexico City Governor Claudia Sheinbaum said on Twitter.
The accident occurred shortly before 10:20 p.m. local time (03:20 GMT on Tuesday.)
Security camera footage shows how the elevated structure breaks when the train collapses, from a height of about 20 meters, and two wagons of the convoy remain in a “V” shape having impacted the floor. The crash occurred on Tláhuac avenue where there was moderate traffic.
The installation is part of the subway bridge built during the Administration of Marcelo Ebrard (2006-2012), now the country’s chancellor.
The accident occurred a couple of kilometers from the Periferico Oriente highway and dozens of agents from the Secretariat of Citizen Security and Civil Protection arrived at the scene.
Images shared online show the wagons on a bus and at least two cars.
A fire broke out Jan. 9 in the control center of the Mexico City Metro, in the Historic Center, which caused one death and at least 30 injuries, paralyzing six train lines.
The Metro of the Mexican capital transports about 6 million people daily, which makes it one of the busiest in the world, although its demand drops on weekends.
Various citizen organizations have criticized the precariousness of the facilities and the lack of maintenance that causes frequent interruptions in the Metro service. EFE
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