At least two people have died after an explosion Thursday at a hospital southwest of Mexico City, civil protection officials said.
The maternity hospital is on the verge of collapsing after a natural gas explosion, emergency officials said. At least 54 people are injured, including 22 children, Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said. An unknown number of people are trapped.
A truck was supplying gas to the hospital when apparently a hose burst and the resulting leak caused an explosion, Mancera said.
At least eight people were seriously injured, the mayor said.
Many others were being treated for cuts from flying glass after the blast, he said.
The Cuajimalpa Maternal Hospital is located on the southwest outskirts of Mexico City. It was founded in 1993 and is part of the city’s government health system.
Photos from the scene show that the gas truck belongs to Gas Express Nieto, a natural gas provider among the four biggest gas distributors in Mexico, according to the company.
Gas Express did not immediately comment on the explosion. Its Twitter account is private and its Facebook page appeared to have been taken offline.
One of the city’s publicly accessible webcams captured the blast, showing a plume of smoke rising from the direction of the hospital.