A gas truck explosion outside a Mexico City maternity hospital has left at least two people dead and 53 others injured, including more than 20 children, according to city authorities.
The initial death toll was put at seven, but Adrian Rubalcava, head of the Cuajimalpa borough in Mexico City where the facility is located, later said that only two people lost their lives in the accident. One of those killed was a child, while another was a woman around 40 years of age.
Rubalcava explained that the miscount occurred after several unconscious people who were retrieved from the debris were mistaken for dead.
The bodies were found in the debris of the collapsed building, according to local media reports. Between 30 to 40 percent of the structure had reportedly collapsed following the blast.
Explosión GRAVE en el Hospital materno infantil Contadero. URGE APOYO DE AMBULANCIAS! pic.twitter.com/MWhtGMpaoU
— Adrián Rubalcava (@AdrianRubalcava) January 29, 2015
Rubalcava said said that “the most worrisome is the collapse of a large part of the hospital.”
Explosión en el hospital materno infantil de Cuajimalpa, luego que una pipa que abastecer a gas. pic.twitter.com/1SNNzOjcT4
— Gabriel Ortega (@changeling2000) January 29, 2015
The explosion, which sent a smoke column billowing through western Mexico City, occurred when a hose supplying gas to the hospital burst Thursday morning.
explosión en hospital. Cuajimalpa pic.twitter.com/qrnl36CxAn
— Gabriel Ortega (@changeling2000) January 29, 2015
La situación está grave! Los servicios de emergencia locales y federales continúan trabajando en el punto! pic.twitter.com/MIKgXZS6En
— Adrián Rubalcava (@AdrianRubalcava) January 29, 2015