(Scypre.com) – In northeast Mexico, a tragic incident occurred at a church where the roof collapsed, resulting in the loss of eight adults and three children, all belonging to the same family attending a baptism ceremony for a one-year-old.
During the Sunday Mass at the Santa Cruz church in Ciudad Madero, approximately 300 individuals were inside the sanctuary. Moments before the catastrophic collapse, the roof gave way, causing injuries to 100 people and trapping dozens. By the evening of the following day, authorities had completed the site clearance and confirmed the number of casualties, affirming that no other victims were found.
Monica Segura, an eyewitness near the church during the collapse, described the incident as unfolding within seconds, with a beam falling and the roof collapsing immediately. She shared her terrifying experience of being trapped, holding her 2-year-old child, and how a Good Samaritan aided her in rescuing the baby and escaping through a window. She also recounted the ordeal of searching for her trapped daughter amidst the rubble. Segura’s 1-year-old nephew sustained a broken arm, and she managed to escape with relatively minor injuries.
Presently, 13 individuals continue to receive medical care, including Segura’s 10-year-old daughter, who was critically injured and remains in intensive care after being buried in the rubble.
The congregants at the Santa Cruz church on that fateful Sunday were mostly elderly and children gathered for several baptisms, including infants as young as four months old and older children up to nine years old. Father Pablo Galván, who was outside in the church parking lot when the collapse transpired, mentioned that the elderly and children suffered the most in terms of injuries and fatalities. He and Father Ángel Vargas, who narrowly escaped the collapse while conducting a baptism Mass, expressed the horror and grief over the tragic loss of lives.
The exact cause of the collapse is yet to be determined, though initial observations from the state security spokesman’s office suggest a structural failure. Security footage captured from a nearby location showed the roof collapsing without outward explosions or signs of an external force. The collapse happened so suddenly that there was no time for any preventive action.
Rescue efforts were underway, involving trained dogs and thermal imaging cameras to search for survivors. However, the search was called off early on Monday as it seemed that no more individuals were trapped beneath the rubble. Governor Américo Villarreal of Tamaulipas emphasized that the church had no prior record of structural issues and had been operating smoothly for over 50 years. Ciudad Madero, where this tragic event occurred, is located approximately 310 miles south of Brownsville, Texas.