Cerro del Chiquihuite: search and rescue work suspended for fear of further collapse

Ricardo de la Cruz Musalem – The Under-Secretary General of the Government of the State of Mexico (Edomex) – informed the press that seek and save possible victims who remained among the remains of Cerro del Chiquihuite, in Tlalnepantla, it was suspended before the risk of another collapse in the region.

It was Friday, September 10, when two rocks fell in the appeal, causing the community of the Municipality of the State of Mexico to suffer human losses and affecting the heritage of its inhabitants.

The official mentioned that Work will resume when studies conducted by engineers from different institutions are completed. This will allow rescue tasks to be more controlled and safer. He also said they would expand the security perimeters of the place.

About why they were reduces the number of rescuers in the zshe landslide, clarified that it was due to various cracks detected. The presence of these degradations increases the instability of the place and hinders work in the neighborhood – in which there was already a movement that worried those who were there.

“We already have contact with the family and we are talking about three possible victims found among the rubble, including childrenThe official added, rejecting the first figure that had been given about 10 missing people.

It should be noted that the Undersecretary clarified that in the last hours people appeared who had declared themselves possible victims, so the number that could have been buried was reduced. However, he stressed that there is no set number of residents who are under the rubble.

“We will stay here as long as necessary, because a battle is waged to stabilize the slope of the hill and against the climatebecause there is a threat of rain ”, explained the official of the State of Mexico.

It was Saturday when rescuers from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), the National Guard and other groups descended from the disaster area to minimize the risk and prevent another landslide from occurring since. more than 560 rescuers arrived in the emergency zone who were not neededbecause only groups of eight were allowed.

The official mentioned that the presence of so many people in the disaster area endangered not only the inhabitants of the place and the surroundings, but also the rescuers themselves who worked in the area.

The reason the search certificates were reduced was that in the area of ​​the hill failure he was detected a rock weighing more than 200 tons, which endangers locals and strangers if the area is subjected to excessive weights.

“You have to do research later with gear, when the slope is stabilized, otherwise the vibration and its weight could generate an additional problem,” he added.

The official was forceful in stating that “safeguard the life of the outskirts of the disaster area, conduct controlled search and rescue for ensure that active relief forces work under conditions of minimum security”.

He warned the cracks are still visible, so experts from the National Center for Disaster Reduction (Cenapred) and the College of Engineers are examining the area to minimize the risk that instability of debris in the area could cause.

The risk is so latent that the undersecretary reaffirmed the need for neighbors belonging to the outskirts of the area to evacuate as soon as possible to avoid more victims in the event of a disaster.

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