Building under construction collapses in Mexico City, 6 dead

MEXICO CITY – Part of building under construction collapsed in Mexico City on Monday, trapping workers underneath concrete beams and leaving at least six people dead and nine injured, officials said.

Mexico City’s Civil Protection chief Fausto Lugo said rescuers were using dogs and specialized equipment to look for workers still trapped beneath the rubble but they needed to proceed “with a lot of care to not put at risk” their colleagues and survivors.

The accident took place in what was to be the multistory parking garage of a shopping centre in a residential area in the southwest of Mexico’s capital.

The nine injured have been transferred to hospitals, authorities said. Lugo raised the death toll by one to six late Monday.

Prosecutor Gustavo Omar Jimenez said an investigation had been opened into the cause of the collapse and to determine if the construction project had the proper permits.