At least 58 people killed in earthquake in Mexico

The death toll continues to rise after an 8.1-magnitude earthquake, the strongest in more than 80 years, struck the South American country.

People had to cover themselves with blankets as they gathered on a street in the capital Mexico City. Photo: Reuters

According to Reuters news agency, the earthquake that occurred on September 7 in Mexico was even stronger than the terrible earthquake in 1985 that flattened many areas in the capital Mexico City and killed thousands of people.

However, the damage to Mexico City in this earthquake was greatly reduced because the epicenter was deeper and farther away from the Mexican capital.

Evacuated patients lie on stretchers outside a hospital in Juchitan, Oaxaca state. Photo: AP

"The situation in Juchitan is terrible; this is the most terrible moment in the history of the city," said the city's mayor, Gloria Sanchez.

The chaotic scene after the earthquake in Mexico City. Photo: Reuters

However, according to the governor of Chiapas state, Manuel Velasco, 12 people have died in Chiapas. Thus, the total number of deaths so far is 60.

Chiapas state is home to many of Mexico's indigenous minorities. Thousands of people living in coastal areas were evacuated as a precaution when a tsunami warning was issued.

Waves reached 0.7 meters in Mexico, but the tsunami threat has passed, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The state oil company Pemex inspected all of its production facilities and shut down the Salina Cruz refinery in the epicenter area as a precaution. However, by the afternoon of September 8, the refinery had resumed operations.

An apartment building cracked after an earthquake in Mexico City. Photo: Reuters

People fled into the streets of the capital Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities with an estimated population of more than 20 million.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake's epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean, about 87 km southwest of the city of Pijijiapan in Chiapas state and at a depth of 69 km.

According to geophysicist John Bellini of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, the September 7 earthquake was the strongest in Mexico since the 8.1-magnitude quake that struck the western state of Jalisco in 1932.

Soldiers work to clear part of a collapsed building in Juchitan, Oaxaca state, Mexico. Photo: AP

According to Tuoi Tre