Mexico Landslide Kills 1 People and Leaves Another 10 Missing
A public security paramedic carries a child after a landslide of a hill crushed a house due to the passage of Hurricane Grace, at Loma Bonita neighborhood in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico on August 21, 2021. - Hurricane Grace left at least eight people dead as it tore through eastern Mexico Saturday, causing flooding, power blackouts and damage to homes before gradually losing strength over mountains. EDUARDO MURILLO/AFP via Getty Images

At least one person is dead, and 10 others are missing after a landslide buried several homes on a hillside area at Tlalnepantla in Mexico on Friday afternoon.

A section of a mountain on the outskirts of Mexico City collapsed, plunging rocks the size of small homes onto a densely populated neighborhood, Associated Press reported.

Mexico Landslide

Rescue workers and firefighters climbed up a three-story pile of rocks that seemed to be resting on three houses in Tlalnepantla, a part of Mexico state, which surrounds Mexico City on three sides.

Tlalnepantla Mayor Raciel Perez Cruz said in a video message that at the moment, their priority is focused on rescuing the individuals, who unfortunately were surprised at the site of the incident.

Perez Cruz added that authorities had evacuated surrounding homes and asked people nearby to avoid the area so rescue workers could work. Based on the released statement of the Mexico state Civil Defense agency, at least 10 people were reported missing.

Journalists present on the site witnessed rescuers carrying a body on a stretcher covered with a sheet. Officials suspected that the enormous rocks dislodged from the Cerro de Chiquihuite hill due to heavy rainfall in recent days.

Three days ago, a resident of the area noticed that six waterfalls had formed on the hill during heavy rains, and hours later, the powerful earthquake occurred, Mexico Daily reported.

Heavy equipment and trucks responded to the scene shortly after the incident to remove debris and assist emergency personnel in the search operations for possible survivors.

Heavy Rain and Earthquake in Mexico

Rescuers who climbed the pile of debris occasionally raised their fists in the air as a signal for silence to listen for individuals trapped below their location.

Authorities and volunteers formed bucket brigades to pass five-gallon containers of smaller debris away as part of the excavation process. Among the local volunteers were construction worker Martin Carmona and his son.

"They organized us in a chain to take out buckets of sand, stone, and rubble. A co-worker lives there. He has a wife and two young children under the debris," the 30-year-old worker told AP.

Carmona and his 14-year-old son arrived at the debris before government rescuers responded. He said his friend was already there digging for his wife and kids.

Carmona noted that rescuers initially heard children, but after two hours of removing debris, authorities told the local volunteers to vacate the area. Only relatives were allowed to stay to help in the search and rescue operations.

Mexico state governor Alfredo del Mazo tweeted that authorities from the state and federal were already coordinating to secure the area in case of more slides and to remove the debris and locate possible victims.

According to Del Mazo, authorities believe that four homes were destroyed in the landslide, and another 80 homes were evacuated as a precaution.

Mexican National Guard troops and rescue teams carrying lengths of rope have already made their way through narrow streets after authorities started to receive reports of looting and stealing from the destroyed homes.

The landslide came days after heavy rain in central Mexico and a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday night near Acapulco that also shook buildings in Mexico City.

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Written By: Jess Smith

WATCH: At Least 1 Dead, 10 Missing in Landslide Near Mexico City - From KVIA ABC-7