16 die as floods swamp public hospital in central Mexico
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/09/2021 (1777 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TULA, Mexico (AP) — Torrential rains in central Mexico suddenly flooded a hospital early Tuesday, killing 16 patients, possibly due to the loss of oxygen equipment as the power went out, the national Social Security Institute said.
A video posted on the agency’s social media feed said about 40 other patients survived as waters rose swiftly in downtown Tula, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Mexico City, and flooded the public hospital around 6 a.m.
Video recorded inside the hospital showed knee-deep water as staff frantically tried to move patients.
Later Tuesday, emergency personnel evacuated the hospital, loading patients into ambulances to be taken to other health centers.
IMSS Director Zoé Robledo said the waters knocked out power to the area as well as the hospital’s generators.
He said the hospital had been caring for 56 patients, about half of them suffering from COVID-19.
Rescue teams of firefighters and soldiers steered boats through Tula’s streets rescuing people from flooded homes.
The town’s central market was completely flooded. In one location beside the river, a jumble of semi-trailers, buses, tanker trucks and cars lodged against each other semi-submerged at odd angles in rushing water.
Residents carried boxes and bags of salvaged belongings to higher ground.
Tula Mayor Manuel Hernández Badillo said at a news conference, “Today the important thing is saving lives.”