MEXICO: Powerful Earthquake Death Toll Rises To 217

(RTTNews) - The 7.1 magnitude earthquake that shook Mexico on Tuesday has killed 217 people so far, said country's Civil Protection Agency.

On Twitter, the National Coordinator of Civil Protection, Luis Felipe Puente, reported that there were 86 deaths in Mexico City, 71 in Morelos, 43 in Puebla, 12 in Mexico state, 4 in Guerrero and 1 in Oaxaca. Puente also warned that it is possible that there are still more landslides and building collapses.

Local authorities initially reported two almost simultaneous earthquakes, but later Mexico's National Seismological Service reported that there was only one 7.1 magnitude quake. The epicenter was located 12 kilometers southeast of Axochiapan, in Morelos state, and a depth of 57 kilometers.

The most stressing situation at the moment is the ongoing rescue in a collapsed school in Mexico City, where so far authorities report 26 children who died and 30 disappeared. The governor of the capital, Miguel Angel Mancera, decreed the state of emergency in the city.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto activated a plan to coordinate federal rescue and humanitarian efforts in emergency cases.

"The priority at this moment is to continue the rescue of those still trapped and to provide medical care to the wounded," said the president.

The tremor hit Mexico's capital only a few days after an 8.1 magnitude quake has left 96 people dead in the country's Southern region. The quake also occurred exactly 32 years after a powerful tremor in Mexico City has killed around 10,000 people.