Mexico began on Tuesday the search for responsibility in the accident occurred the day before the metro in its capital which left at least 23 dead and 70 injured.
• Read also: Mexico City skytrain bridge collapse: at least 23 dead and 70 injured
All eyes are on the one who was the mayor of the city at the time of the inauguration on October 30, 2012 of this “cursed” line, the current Minister of Foreign Affairs and potential president, Marcelo Ebrard, a veteran of the local politics.
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In the morning, in front of the press, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador immediately promised “a thorough investigation, without regard of any kind, to seek to know the truth […], from which liability will be established ”.
The investigation was entrusted to the federal prosecutor’s office and to that of Mexico City, and will receive the support of independent international experts, he said.
Present at this press conference, the mayor of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum indicated that among the victims were minors.
According to her, the accident occurred when a beam supporting the 12-meter-high bridge on which the train was traveling collapsed.
While the dust from the rubble had not yet settled, the local press referred to the controversies that had arisen at the time of the construction of this line of about 25 km which crosses the south of the capital, as well as its recurring problems of operation.
Line 12 is one of the two lines of the Mexican metro which does not run on tires like the Parisian metro, but on traditional railway tracks.
Since the start of operations, wear of the rails and wheels of the trains had been detected, which in March 2014 forced Mr. Ebrard’s successor to suspend the service in 12 stations. A study then concluded that there were problems with the design, operation and maintenance of the tracks.
Marcelo Ebrard, present at the press conference, spoke of a “sad day for all”. “I put myself at the entire disposal of the authorities”, declared the minister, considered as a potential candidate for the presidential election of 2024.
“Let him come and see! ”
The accident occurred on the night of Monday to Tuesday, around 10 p.m. local time near Olivos station, after the bridge collapsed which caused a metro train to plunge into a void.
In the area of the tragedy, the rescuers were still trying to save four bodies trapped in the jumble of iron and concrete to which some cars were reduced, dismantled using cranes.
Dozens of firefighters and rescuers were still trying to free the wounded and the bodies of passengers incarcerated in a pile of metal, rubble, cables and deformed rails.
The whole area was cordoned off by the police and the army, which set up a security perimeter. Cranes went into action to lift the concrete and metal blocks, and thus free any survivors. Four bodies could still be under the rubble.
In the early hours of the morning, a man was waiting for news from his brother.
“He was with his wife and they managed to get her out, but he was crushed there and the truth is that since we don’t know anything, they don’t give us any information,” he told AFP. .
Witnesses have voiced fierce criticism of Marcelo Ebrard.
“Let him come here to see what he left us. He’s the one in charge, ”a woman yelled in front of the cameras, making accusations of corruption against her.
This is the second metro accident since the start of the year. In January, a fire damaged the network’s control facilities, killing one and injuring 29.
In March 2020, a collision between two trainsets left one killed and 41 injured.
The Mexico City metro was inaugurated in 1969 and serves the capital. The 200 km network has twelve lines and 195 stations. It transports around 4.5 million passengers daily.