250 die  7.1 magnitude Mexico earthquake

The tremor punched holes on the side of the skyscrapers in the capital at Mexico City.

The 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck at 1 pm (6GMT) killed 250 people including 21 primary school children and toppled several buildings in the Mexico City.  The earthquake came on the anniversary of the devastating 1985 earthquake that caused major damage to the city.

Much of the city was plunged into darkness with over 60 per cent without electricity. According to Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera 44 buildings fell in Mexico City with over 80 dead and a fire broke out in several of them.

Mexico City is built on the former lake bed, and the soil amplifies the effects of an earthquake centred hundreds of miles away. There have been 19 earthquakes of a magnitude of 6.5 or larger within 200 miles of yesterday’s quake in the past century.