At least 42 people were killed on Tuesday when a powerful earthquake toppled buildings in central Mexico, on the 32th anniversary of the deadly 1985 temblor that killed thousands in the capital Mexico City.According to preliminary reports, the quake caused the collapse of at least two buildings in different parts of the capital, and partial damage to numerous other structures.
The seismic waves caused fissures in a road outside the capital's airport, where flights were also disrupted, and a high-rise on Mexico City's main south-north axis, Avenida Insurgentes, caught fire.
According to the report of the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the 7.1-magnitude quake, which hit at 1:14 p.m. local time, was located 5 km from Raboso, in the central Mexican state of Puebla.
Its proximity to the capital made the quake feel as intense as the 8.2-magnitude earthquake that hit southern Mexico on Sept. 7, reportedly the strongest to hit the country in a century.
Just hours earlier, at 11 a.m., there was a nationwide earthquake drill to mark the anniversary of the deadly quake on Sept. 19, 1985.
