Alberto Nájar
BBC Mundo, Mexico City

BBC Mundo's Alberto Nájar describes the scene at a collapsed primary school in Mexico City, where at least 21 children and five adults have died:

In the midst of chaos, desperate screams and police and soldiers trying to form a human wall.

A well-built man in a blue t-shirt stumbles towards a medical station. Two soldiers hold him up. Very pale, he stammers his name, Leonardo, and says he has to go back because his child is still under rubble at the collapsed school.

He tries to stand, but a medic stops him.

“Your blood pressure’s at 180, you could have a heart attack,” she says while giving treatment.

“What’s your son’s name?” I ask. His gaze stays fixed on the school as he answers, “Alfredito”.

The medic takes his chin in her hand and makes him count, as a way of helping him concentrate and lifting him out of the shock.

“You have to be strong for him,” she says. “Your son needs you.”

Ten minutes later he manages to steady himself and walk back to the school, devastated.

Image source, AFP

A second church has reportedly collapsed in Puebla.

The 17th century building in Atzala fell during a baptism, killing 11 people including the baby, officials told Efe news agency.

They report that the parson and the sacristan were able to escape unscathed.

Earlier, it was reported that the earthquake caused a church on the slopes of the Popocatepetl volcano, also in Puebla, to collapse, killing 15 people.

Image source, EPA

The National Autonomous University of Mexico, which is based in Mexico City, says it is training 400 architects and engineers to assess the damage from the earthquake.

They said: "Some 400 architects and engineers are now being trained to carry out the valuations on the properties affected in the affected states."

The Governor of the state of Puebla has shared images of mobile food shelters in Atzitzihuacan and Izucar de Matamoros, which are in the south of the state.

The epicentre of the quake was in Puebla, and 43 people are known to have died there.

Mexico's education minister says 21 children and four adults have died at the Enrique Rébsamen primary school which collapsed in Mexico City's southern Coapa district.

Local media had earlier reported a higher death toll.

Eleven people have been rescued while three were still missing, the minister said.

The office of the Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, has tweeted advice to those in the state of Morelos. "If you live in Morelos, and your home was damaged, go to a temporary shelter", it said.

Earlier, the state's Governor, Graco Ramirez, shared a list of temporary shelters in Morelos.

71 people are known to have died in the state and almost 200 people have been hospitalised.

On social media, some are suggesting that rescue efforts are being made more difficult by helicopters flying over the earthquake site.

Claudia Sheinbaum, an official from the Tlalpan borough of Mexico City, reportedly told a local radio station: "We call on the media that support us do not fly over the area, so we are able to listen for people who are alive".

The Governor of the state of Morelos says 196 people have been hospitalised there.

71 people are known to have died in the central Mexican state.

Mexico's Secretary of State for Labour has tweeted a statement in response to the earthquake.

Alfonso Navarrete advises employers to make sure workplaces are safe before allowing their employees back inside.

This applies in Mexico City, Morelos, Puebla, Mexico state and Guerrero.

At least 30 people, mostly children, died at a primary school which collapsed in Mexico City during the earthquake, local media say.

At least 209 schools were affected, 15 of which have suffered severe damage.

Read the full story here.

The head of Mexico's civil defence agency says 225 people are now known to have died in the earthquake, 94 of them in Mexico City and 71 in Morelos state.

Since the earthquake happened, there has been praise for the selfless actions of people who rushed to help victims.

"Everyone has come together," said Frederik Trovatten, who lives in Mexico City.

Read more from the BBC's UGC and Social News team.

Image source, Manuel Mavroleon Aguayo

Local media have shared video of rescuers attempting to clear the rubble from a collapsed building in Mexico City.

There are three people trapped, they say.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

British journalist Ioan Grillo, who lives in Mexico City, said the quake had been "devastating".

He told the World At One's Martha Kearney that it was "like a nightmare playing out" for locals who remember 1985's earthquake - which struck 32 years ago to the day.

The mayor of Mexico City, Miguel Ángel Mancera, says 39 buildings have collapsed in the city.

In one building, number 286 in Álvaro Obregón street, 26 people have reportedly been rescued.

A volunteer told Televisa TV that 13 people are believed to still be trapped in an air pocket in the building.

The volunteer said the survivors had communicated with some of those who have now been rescued.

Mexico is prone to earthquakes. Earlier this month, an 8.1 magnitude tremor in the south of the country left at least 90 people dead, and in 1985, an earthquake claimed more than 10,000 lives and flattened 30,000 buildings.

So why is Mexico so susceptible to earthquakes? Our colleagues at BBC Minute have put together this handy explainer.

Images from the earthquake show some buildings have collapsed while others, often right next door, remain standing.

But why is this? Read our piece here to find out.

Image source, Getty Images

The Mexican Interior Ministry is asking people not to spread false information in the wake of the quake.

Earlier, Interior Minister Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong denied rumours spread on social messaging service WhatsApp that another quake had been predicted in other parts of the country.

"While there may be aftershocks, earthquakes can NOT be predicted," Mr Osorio tweeted.

Image source, Segob

BBC Trending

People have been expressing their solidarity with Mexicans affected by the quake on social media.

#FuerzaMexico, or strength to Mexico, has been shared more than a million times since the tremors started on Tuesday afternoon.

Read more about social media reaction to the earthquake here.

The Governor of Puebla, Tony Gali, has said 15 people were killed when a church in Atzitzihuacan, situated on the slopes of Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano, collapsed during mass.

The volcano is around 55km (34 miles) from Mexico City.

Image source, AFP