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At least 42 people dead as powerful tremor rocks Mexico City - UPDATED

At least 42 people dead as powerful tremor rocks Mexico City - <span style="color: red;">UPDATED

19 September 2017 22:26 (UTC +04:00)

More than 40 people have have been killed when a powerful earthquake hit southern Mexico, causing serious damage to buildings in the country’s capital on the anniversary of a 1985 quake that inflicted major damage to Mexico City, APA reports quoting the Guardian.

Graco Ramírez, the governor of central Morelos state tweeted that at least 42 people had been killed in the state, while several more were reported in the State of Mexico, which wraps around the country’s capital.

An earthquake of 7.4 magnitude hit southern Mexico on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake hit five miles (eight km) southeast of Atencingo in the state of Puebla at a depth of 32 miles (51 km), USGS said.

Local media in Puebla reported that five people had died there. Puebla governor Tony Galil tweeted that several buildings in the city of Cholula had been damaged, including churches whose steeples collapsed.

Several buildings in Mexico City collapsed reportedly trapping people inside, cars were crushed and swathes of the capital were left without electricity.

Video posted online showed one building in the Reforma neighbourhood collapsing in a cloud of dust as onlookers screamed and ran for safety.

Across the city, sirens wailed and plumes of dust rose hight into the air. Federal police officers with sniffer dogs were deployed to the collapsed buildings.