MEXICO CITY, Sept 8 (NNN-XINHUA) – Floods killed 17 patients in a hospital, following heavy rains in Tula, a city in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo, authorities said.
Rains, starting on Monday afternoon, in Hidalgo caused the area’s Tula River to overflow, disrupting vital services and flooding the General Hospital of Zone No. 5, of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).
“We have, unfortunately, 17 deaths,” Governor of Hidalgo, Omar Fayad, told the press.
According to reports, 15 of the deceased had COVID-19 and died, because “the hospital was flooded and was left without power, unfortunately they were on respiratory support.”
The other two victims arrived at the hospital without vital signs and they also had COVID-19, he said.
The hospital was one of the five hardest-hit buildings in Tula, where floodwaters reached as high as a metre.
As the power supply collapsed citywide, power generators at the flooded hospital also failed. There were 104 hospital staff and 56 patients in the building, about half of whom were infected with COVID-19.
“Such a tragic situation due to rainfall in Tula that had not occurred in 40 years. We are doing everything necessary to support citizens. The most important thing is to save lives,” the governor said on Twitter.
Fayad called on people living near the Tula River to evacuate and go to temporary shelters, because if the rains continue, “it can get worse.”– NNN-XINHUA
