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| 31 children die in Mexican nursery fire |
| 2009-06-07 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] A fire at a daycare centre in northern Mexico has killed at least 31 young children and left dozens of others injured, police and officials said yesterday. Many of the victims from Friday's blaze -- children aged between three months and two years -- died from asphyxiation, officials said. The death toll continued to rise into the weekend. "We continue to get the bodies out," Jose Larrinaga, a spokesman for the local prosecutor's office, told reporters after the fire died down, adding it was too early to announce a final toll. In desperate scenes, local residents smashed the cement walls of the centre in the state capital Hermosillo with cars and vans to try to save the children, said Larrinaga on Televisa television channel. Radio reports said there were many newborn babies in a part of the centre where the fire caused the roof to collapse. Around 25 children and five adults were being treated Saturday in local hospitals, including some "in grave condition", he said. "Where's God? Where's God?" a police commander said as he came out of the centre in tears, radio reports said. Between 50 and 70 children and a handful of care workers had been taking an afternoon nap when the fire broke out Friday, Larrinaga said. Local media said that there were 176 children inside the ABC daycare centre. The centre, in a working class neighbourhood in the south of Hermosillo, had a staff of around 20 people. It belonged to Mexico's social security network, the Mexican presidency said in a statement. President Felipe Calderon had felt "most profound pain and expressed his most deeply felt condolences to the families of the children," it said. The federal government has rushed to the area three additional ambulance crews as well as a dozen medical specialists trained to work with burn victims, the presidency statement added. State investigators followed firefighters, Red Cross workers and police to the scene, police said in a statement. Local media suggested the fire had started in a neighbouring tire shop, a claim the shopowners quickly denied, according to news reports. But the local prosecutor's office cautioned against premature conclusions saying at the moment "it would be adventurous to pass judgment on what caused the fire." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 I heard two little ones, a boy and a girl, were airlifted to Shriners Hospital in California. Not sure about the boy, but the girl was burned over 80% of her body. Hopefully there are a few miracles the doctors there can perform for these kids. |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2009-06-07 22:36 |
| #1 This is horrible. A sad day, may god bless the little ones and their families. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-06-07 22:18 |