At Least 20 Killed, Dozens Hospitalized, In Mexico City Overpass Collapse

An overpass in Mexico City collapsed Monday night, plunging subway cars filled with passengers to the ground below. At least 20 people have been killed, with many more – roughly 70, according to the latest reports – badly injured.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said during press conference at the scene of the accident that 49 people had been transported to various hospitals. The accident on Line 12 of the subway system was caused by a broken beam, the mayor said.

“We are going to do all the investigations to determine what the causes were,” the mayor said. “We can’t speculate at this moment.”

Disturbing scenes broadcast on Mexico’s Milenio TV showed how the overpass collapsed and the train tumbled on to unsuspecting cars below, sending up a cloud of dust. Hundreds of firefighters and civil defense personnel rushed to pull people and bodies from the rubble, while ambulances rushed the injured to several hospitals across the city.

Mexico City’s metro system is one of the largest in the world, and it carries about five million commuters per day. It’s central to the functioning of the capital city’s economy.

Inaugurated in 2012, Line 12 is one of the system’s most recent additions and runs between the neighborhoods of Tlahuac and Mixcoac, connecting commuters from the city’s outskirts to its downtown.

▶️ #ÚLTIMAHORA | Momento exacto del desplome del puente y caída de vagón del #MetroCdMx en Línea 12 https://t.co/ws47CNwAAT pic.twitter.com/T14vDMQyAp

— Milenio (@Milenio) May 4, 2021

It was built when foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard was mayor of Mexico City.

“What happened today with the Metro is a terrible tragedy. My solidarity with the victims and their families,” Ebrard said in a post on social media.

Ebrard is now foreign minister and a key ally of Mexico’s president, which brings us to the political ramifications of this horrible tragedy. Not only might this spell the end of Mayor Sheinbaum’s political career, but thanks to the Ebrard connection, it will also reflect poorly on the government of AMLO, Mexico’s left-wing anti-establishment president who has been likened to Trump.

Though maybe AMLO will now be forced to take a page from the Biden playbook and pass his own $4 trillion “infrastructure” plan to finance more handouts to voters.