As the number of deaths caused by Tuesday’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Mexico rose above 100, the government of Costa Rica offered aid to the stricken nation.
“The National Emergency Commission (CNE) has activated its national protocols for humanitarian assistance including the assignment of 70 specialists, in addition to logistical support, as soon as it is required by the government” of Mexico, CNE president Iván Brenes said in a statement.
Search-and-rescue teams composed of members of the Firefighters’ Corps, Red Cross, Social Security System (Caja), National Police and CNE stand at the ready, the statement said.
President Luis Guillermo Solís, who is in New York at the UN General Assembly, expressed his solidarity with the people of Mexico.
The powerful earthquake rocked Mexico, toppling buildings in the capital and sowing panic on the anniversary of a devastating 1985 quake. The toll from the authorities was preliminary and could rise, as rescue crews and volunteers in Mexico City – home to 20 million people – clawed through the rubble of collapsed buildings looking for survivors and bodies.
Read more about this developing story here.
