A powerful 7.1 Richter-scale earthquake hit the central Mexican state of Puebla, south-east of Mexico City today, claiming the lives of more than 140 people and temporarily closing the country’s largest airport at Mexico City – the second busiest in Latin America.

 

The airport subsequently reopened several hours later at 04.00am local time, after engineers established that all the building structures, runways and approach roads were safe.

 

CRUCIAL LIFELINE FOR AID AND SUPPLIES…

This is crucially important, since the airport will now form the central focus for the influx of overseas aid needed to help the city recover from this latest tragedy – despite the earthquake’s epicentre being located 75 miles away in the south-eastern town of Raboso, in the central Mexican state of Puebla.

 

Mexico City Airport management has now released a statement declaring the airport open again, while confirming its runways are ‘undamaged’.

 

It has also established that there are no residual dangers to passengers or workers in either of the two main terminals where more than 180 flights were cancelled during the closure – an inspection period which lasted more than six hours.

 

This scenario is in stark contrast to the damage sustained in central Mexcio City, where more than 40 buildings are reported to have to have collapsed.

 

This latest ‘event’ also follows an even bigger 8.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico two weeks ago, that killed a further 90 people.