The Mexican Navy said Thursday that all the children trapped beneath the rubble of the elementary school that collapsed during the earthquake have been removed — but officials did not address the fate of a 12-year-old girl who was reportedly still alive in the wreckage.
“We have done an accounting with school officials and we are certain that all the children either died, unfortunately, are in hospitals or are safe at their homes,” said undersecretary for the Navy Angel Enrique Sarmiento.
Rescue work at the Enrique Rebsamen school — where at least 19 kids and five adults were killed — captured international attention, in part because of a 12-year-old girl who was reportedly discovered alive and who had been pinned beneath the rubble more than 48 hours since the earthquake.
No explanation was given whether she was pulled out alive, dead or was never really buried in the rubble in the first place.
Rescuers initially identified her as “Frida Sofia,” but no family emerged amid rescue efforts.
Tales of the girl wiggling her fingers Wednesday became a symbol of the hope that drove thousands to dig through wrecked buildings looking for survivors of the magnitude-7.1 quake that killed at least 250 people.
Rescuers Thursday morning claimed to MSNBC they had slipped a cellphone to one of three children hunkered down in the rubble beneath a granite table.
An adult woman may still remain trapped.
All told, 11 children were unearthed from the debris alive, and 19 were found dead along with six adults, according to Sarmiento.
The body of a 58-year-old woman was pulled from the debris Thursday morning, marking the school’s latest fatality.
With Post wires