The roof collapsed as parishioners of Santa Cruz Church in the eastern coastal city of Ciudad Madero received Holy Communion. This is what Bishop José Armando Alvarez of the neighboring port city of Tampico says. According to a journalist on site, a baptism celebration was being held at the time of the collapse.
Tamaulipas state police say National Guard, state police, civil defense and Red Cross units are on the scene to remove and accommodate victims from the rubble. Television images showed emergency services, worshipers and residents trying to pull survivors from the rubble.
“People are currently being pulled out from under the rubble. We are experiencing a very difficult day today,” Bishop José Armando Alvarez said in a recorded message. He called on people to pray for the survivors.
Ciudad Madero is located about 500 kilometers south of the American city of Brownsville in Texas.