22 September 2017•Update: 23 September 2017
By Canberk Yuksel
NEW YORK
Search and rescue teams were hard at work Friday in Mexico in an effort to possibly pull victims from the rubble after a catastrophic earthquake earlier this week.
At least 286 people have been killed since the magnitude 7.1 temblor struck Tuesday, according to officials. Nearly 3,000 buildings in Mexico City have been damaged.
President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday dismissed reports officials would suspend searches and move to the demolition of damaged buildings. His announcement came after families of those still unaccounted for expressed concerns on social media.
Similarly, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong took to Twitter to urge Mexicans not to be misled by “false information”, while Defense Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos promised demolitions would not begin until all avenues for rescuing survivors were explored.
“We will not break down any building, nor will we impact any survivors, until we exhaust the last resort,” he said.
Meanwhile, Navy officials issued an apology Thursday after releasing conflicting reports about the alleged rescue of a 12-year-old student initially identified as Frida Sofia. The reports, which created a buzz online and raised hopes more victims could be pulled out alive, turned out to be inaccurate after it emerged that no student with that name was enrolled in the school.
The quake Tuesday was the second major temblor to hit Mexico in less than two weeks after it was struck by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake Sept. 8.
That earthquake killed nearly 100 people and left around 2.5 million residents in need of aid.
