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7.1 earthquake strikes Mexico City, dozens killed

Powerful 7.1 earthquake shakes Mexico City
Posted at 11:42 AM, Sep 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-19 21:24:07-04

(KGTV) - Mexico City officials have reports of people trapped after a 7.1 earthquake shook the city Tuesday.

The epicenter was near the town of Raboso, about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City, about 11 a.m.

Mexico's seismological agency said its center was east of the city in the state of Puebla.

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At least 139 people have been killed, according to the country's federal government.

Among the dead are at least eight people in Mexico State, at least 42 people in Morelos, and at least 11 in the state of Puebla.

Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said at least 44 buildings have collapsed and 50 to 60 people have been pulled alive from the rubble.

 

Thousands of people left high-rise buildings and filled the streets of Mexico City. Some of them hugged each other for comfort.

Witnesses reported glass falling from broken windows and clouds of dust falling from buildings.

Mexico City's airport shut down while officials checked for damage.

 

 

The earthquake comes 32 years after a magnitude 8.0 earthquake on September 19, 1985, which killed an estimated 9,500 people in and around Mexico City. Earlier in the day buildings across the city held preparation drills on the anniversary of the 1985 quake.

It also comes one week after a magnitude-8.1 earthquake struck off the southern coast of the country, killing at least 61 people.

With more than 8 million people, Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world.

Allen Hartleib had been waiting by the phone to hear from his loved ones for hours, before finally getting in touch with his family. His daughter is a teacher in Mexico City and his wife happened to be visiting her when the earthquake hit.

"I feel lost, I feel helpless, what can I do? I can't do anything. I can't go there, even if I wanted to," Hartleib said Tuesday.

He tried to be patient and understood many other families were also trying to get in touch with loved ones.

Hartleib said he heard through a family friend his wife and daughter are safe, but without electricity.

 

10News is monitoring this breaking story. The Associated Press contributed to this report.