Since its completion, Metro Line 12 has been plagued by complaints and allegations of irregularities.
- According to city officials, an elevated portion of the Mexico City metro collapsed late on May 3, sending a subway car plunging into a busy boulevard, killing at least 23 people and injuring more than 70. Rescuers spent hours searching for someone trapped inside a car dangling from the overpass. Such attempts, however, were placed on hold early on May 4 due to concerns about the safety of those working near the precariously dangling driver.
- To help control the situation, a crane was brought in. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said of the passengers who may have been trapped inside the car after one of the city’s busiest subway system’s worst accidents, “We don’t know if they’re alive.” Ms. Sheinbaum previously claimed that someone was saved alive from a car that had been trapped on the ground below. She said 49 people were taken to hospitals, with seven of them in critical condition and undergoing surgery.
“Unfortunately, there are children among the dead,” Ms. Sheinbaum said but did not specify how many.
The train crashed over a concrete median strip in the borough of Tlahuac, which decreased the number of casualties for cars on the road below. “A support beam gives way” as the train went over it, Sheinbaum said.
- The Mexico City Metro had seen at least two major accidents since its start half a century ago. In 2015, at the Oceania station, a train that failed to stop on time collided with another. Hundreds of police officers and firefighters cordoned off the area on May 4, as concerned relatives and friends of those believed to be aboard the train gathered outside the security perimeter. They huddled together in anticipation of hearing that the coronavirus situation in Mexico City remains serious.
- Adrian Loa Martnez, 46, said his mother called him to express his half-brother and sister-in-law were driving when the overpass collapsed, and a beam crashed into their vehicle. His sister-in-law was rescued and taken to the hospital, but José Juan Galindo, his half-brother, was crushed and thought he was dead, he said. Gisela Rioja Castro, 43, was on the lookout for Miguel ngel Espinoza, her 42-year-old husband. Her husband used to take the train home after finishing work at a supermarket, but she said he never returned home and had stopped answering his phone. When she found out what had happened, she immediately feared the worst, but the authorities have given her no details.
“No one knows anything,” she said.
- The incident occurred on Line 12, the city’s newest subway line, which runs through the city’s south side. It runs underground through the city’s center, like many of the city’s dozen subway lines, but then on elevated concrete platforms through the suburbs. The collapse may be a significant setback for Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of Mexico City, from 2006 to 2012 during the Line 12 building. Accusations of shoddy planning and maintenance on the subway line emerged soon after Mr. Ebrard stepped down as mayor. The line was forced to be partially shut down in 2013 to allow for track repairs.
- “I want to emphasize that I am available to officials at any time and in any capacity.” It was unclear if the subway system was damaged by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in 2017. Accusations of shoddy planning and maintenance on the subway line emerged soon after Mr. Ebrard stepped down as mayor. The line was forced to be partially shut down in 2013 to allow for track repairs.
- “Unfortunately, there are children among the dead,” Sheinbaum said, without specifying the number. Rescuers spent hours searching for someone trapped inside a car dangling from the overpass. Those attempts, however, were placed on hold early Tuesday due to safety concerns for those working around the precariously hanging driver. To help control the situation, a crane was brought in. “We don’t know if they’re alive,” Sheinbaum said of those who might have been trapped inside the subway car.
- According to the mayor, a motorist was rescued alive from a car trapped on the pavement below. The train passed over a concrete median strip in the southside borough of Tlahuac, which appeared to minimize the number of casualties for cars on the road below. Hundreds of police officers and firefighters surrounded the scene, while worried relatives of those believed to be on the trains gathered outside the security perimeter.
- Since its completion, Metro Line 12 has been plagued by complaints and allegations of irregularities. The Mexico City Metro, one of the world’s oldest and busiest, has had several accidents since its inception half a century ago. This year, a fire destroyed the network’s control facilities, killing one person and injuring 29 others. A collision between two trains at the Tacubaya station killed one passenger and injured another 41 in March of last year. In 2015, 12 passengers were injured when a late-arriving train collided with another at the Oceania station.
- According to officials, an overpass in Mexico City’s metro system collapsed Monday night, sending a train plunging downward, trapping cars under rubble, and killing at least 13 people. According to the civil defense department in Mexico City, the accident in the capital’s south zone, which occurred at 10:30 p.m. local time, injured nearly 70 people. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum rushed to the scene. Hundreds of rescuers combed through the rubble of the collapsed overpass, which showed at least one damaged train in the video. Cars were visibly trapped under the surface. Since its completion, Metro Line 12 has been plagued by complaints and allegations of irregularities.
Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/world/mexico-city-metro-overpass-collapse-live-udpates-7301301/