Wall of Water Sweeps Down Mexican Canal, Killing 12

TENEXTEPANGO, Mexico — Heavy rains sent a 5-foot wall of water tumbling down an irrigation canal Thursday in central Mexico, killing 12 people when it washed away tin-and-cardboard homes along the banks.

The flood waters in Tenextepango in Morelos state collapsed a brick wall, sending it crashing down on the two-room home of 14-year-old Miguel Angel Solano and sweeping the occupants out into the predawn darkness.

“My mother was saying, ‘We should go. We should go. We should get out of here.’ But my father said, ‘No, it will calm down,’ ” Solano said.

Solano’s father, mother and a 12-year-old sister drowned moments later.

Nine other people, including five children, were killed as the flood waters swept farther down the canal in this village about 40 miles south of Mexico City.

Army troops were sent to the scene to clear debris.

Also Thursday, two other people died a few miles away when a swollen river carried off their truck, the Mexican Red Cross said.

Rains forced the Ahuelhueyo River to overflow in the area. Several homes were reported damaged, and 120 people were left homeless.

A wide swath of Mexico has been inundated this week, with at least 16 other people dying in mudslides and floods. More rain is predicted for the region, the National Meteorological Service reported.

Chiapas state suffered severe flooding in September, killing at least 185 people and breaking apart the state’s road and bridge system.