Mexico's Earthquake Triggered A Deadly Collapse At A Primary School

Willa Frej
Updated

After more than two days of searching for survivors, rescuers concluded Thursday that all pupils had been accounted for at Mexico City’s Enrique Rébsamen primary school, where 19 children were killed after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the region on Tuesday, leveling the building.

Six adults also died in the collapse, Reuters reported. According to Foro TV, the school had completed an evacuation drill just two hours before the disaster occurred.

Earlier reports on the school collapse had focused on a girl who was allegedly trapped beneath the rubble, with rescuers telling media at the scene they were trying to locate her in the debris.

But a statement Thursday from a Mexican Navy official that all students had been accounted for made the situation unclear, as had the lack of family members coming forward to identify the allegedly missing girl.

The quake, the worst to hit Mexico in decades, devastated cities and towns across central Mexico, killing more than 230 people. It hit less than two weeks after an 8.1-magnitude quake killed at least 98 people in southern Mexico.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto toured the devastation late Tuesday, lending comfort to frantic parents and survivors.

At least 200 Mexico City schools suffered some kind of damage, education minister Aurelio Nuño said. Classes were canceled at universities across the country.

(Photo: Reuters)
(Photo: Reuters)

This story has been updated to include more recent casualty counts.

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Rescuers, firefighters, policemen, soldiers and volunteers remove rubble and debris.
Rescuers, firefighters, policemen, soldiers and volunteers remove rubble and debris.
Rescuers searching for survivors buried under the rubble ask for silence to help locate those who may be trapped.
Rescuers searching for survivors buried under the rubble ask for silence to help locate those who may be trapped.
Rescuers and residents assist an injured victim amid the ruins of a building that was knocked down. 
Rescuers and residents assist an injured victim amid the ruins of a building that was knocked down. 
A woman reacts after she and others were rescued. 
A woman reacts after she and others were rescued. 
Workers walk past a collapsed building. 
Workers walk past a collapsed building. 
Debris is pictured at the site of a collapsed building. 
Debris is pictured at the site of a collapsed building. 
Rescuers look for survivors in a multistory building.
Rescuers look for survivors in a multistory building.
Rescuers searched into the night for survivors. 
Rescuers searched into the night for survivors. 
Volunteers use shovels to remove debris and search for survivors. 
Volunteers use shovels to remove debris and search for survivors. 
A man stands next to a car crushed by debris from a damaged building after a quake rattled Mexico City on Tuesday.
A man stands next to a car crushed by debris from a damaged building after a quake rattled Mexico City on Tuesday.
People remove debris of a collapsed building.
People remove debris of a collapsed building.
A powerful earthquake shook Mexico City on Tuesday, causing panic among the megalopolis' 20 million inhabitants on the 32nd anniversary of a devastating 1985 quake. 
A powerful earthquake shook Mexico City on Tuesday, causing panic among the megalopolis' 20 million inhabitants on the 32nd anniversary of a devastating 1985 quake. 
A woman reacts as a real quake rattles Mexico City on Tuesday as an earthquake drill was being held in the capital.
A woman reacts as a real quake rattles Mexico City on Tuesday as an earthquake drill was being held in the capital.
Exterior walls on a building crumbled during the earthquake.
Exterior walls on a building crumbled during the earthquake.
People remove debris of a damaged building.
People remove debris of a damaged building.
A woman carrying her baby rushes through the street.
A woman carrying her baby rushes through the street.
People look through the debris of a building.
People look through the debris of a building.
People search through debris. 
People search through debris. 
Police officers cordon the area off after a building collapsed. 
Police officers cordon the area off after a building collapsed. 
An awning collapsed onto parked cars. 
An awning collapsed onto parked cars. 
A building collapsed onto a car during the earthquake. 
A building collapsed onto a car during the earthquake. 
A car is crushed by debris from a damaged building.
A car is crushed by debris from a damaged building.
An injured woman is treated after the earthquake. 
An injured woman is treated after the earthquake. 
A rescuer pulls a dog out of the rubble during the search for survivors in Mexico City on September 20, 2017. 
A rescuer pulls a dog out of the rubble during the search for survivors in Mexico City on September 20, 2017. 

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.